Uber has quietly rolled out in-app video recording for drivers across 10 major Indian cities, marking the ride-hailing giant's latest attempt to address safety concerns in one of its most critical markets. The pilot, which started in May and includes Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, comes as drivers report facing false complaints and misconduct from passengers that can lead to account suspensions.
Uber just made a significant move in India's complex ride-sharing landscape. The company has been quietly testing in-app video recording for drivers across 10 major cities since May, TechCrunch reports, addressing growing safety concerns in a market where dashcams aren't standard equipment.
The timing isn't coincidental. Half a dozen Uber drivers in the Delhi-NCR region told reporters they regularly face misconduct from passengers, with some riders threatening false complaints if drivers don't comply with route changes or other demands. "Even female passengers traveling late at night insist that we follow the route they want instead of what's shown on the map. If we refuse, they threaten to file false complaints," one driver shared anonymously, highlighting the power imbalance that can leave drivers vulnerable.
These aren't just isolated incidents. False complaints can trigger penalties or complete account suspensions, effectively cutting off drivers' livelihoods in a gig economy where platform access means everything. The psychological pressure is real - drivers find themselves caught between following company protocols and avoiding retaliatory complaints from passengers who, as several drivers noted, "pay for the trip and can easily switch to competing platforms if dissatisfied."
Uber's solution builds on infrastructure the company has been developing globally. The video recording feature first launched in the U.S. in 2022 and is already available in Canada and Brazil. In India, it extends the audio recording capability that rolled out in 2023, creating a more comprehensive safety documentation system.
The technical implementation prioritizes privacy while maintaining utility. "All recordings are double-encrypted, stored on the device, and cannot be accessed by anyone - including Uber - unless a user chooses to share them as part of a safety report," an Uber spokesperson explained. Videos automatically delete after a week if not shared, and riders receive in-trip notifications when recording is active.
The current pilot spans India's economic powerhouses: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Lucknow. This geographic spread captures diverse urban environments and rider behaviors across India's north-south divide, giving comprehensive data on how the feature performs across different cultural contexts.
