Uber India Announces Selfie-Powered Real-Time ID Check for Improved Security

Uber is trying hard to establish a sense of trust with its users. The company has in recent weeks been in the news for all the wrong reasons, from sexual harassment charges to the CEO's viral argument with a driver. For any ride-hailing company, security and reliability must take precedence and to that effect Uber on Monday announced a new tool in India - Real-Time ID Check - to ensure that the person driving the cab is the company's own.

Uber India announced in a blog post a Real-Time ID Check that will help the company verify whether the driver behind the wheel is a genuine Uber driver or not. The tool requires the driver to take a selfie periodically before they accept rides. The security feature uses Microsoft's Face API from its Cognitive Services suite, which helps the company recognise the driver from its database. Drivers will not be able to accept any new ride until their face is recognised. Additionally, if the photo does not match with the photo registered with the company, the driver's account will be temporarily blocked.

"Real-Time ID Check prompts drivers to share a selfie before going online to help ensure the driver using the app matches the account we have on file. This prevents fraud and protects drivers' accounts from being compromised. It also protects riders by building another layer of accountability into the app to ensure the right person is behind the wheel," said Joe Sullivan, Chief Security Officer, Uber.

The new tool was earlier announced as a pilot programme for the US in September last year. The feature will now be available in India in five cities - New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The company promises more cities will soon get the new feature. The pilot programme that was launched in the US a while back proved to be very successful as the technology was able to verify more than 99 percent of drivers with an average verification time of just a few seconds.

The new feature requires all Uber drivers to have a smartphone with a camera. According to the engineering team behind the new feature, a number of steps have been taken to ensure that the photo taken is read and recognised efficiently. The tool features a light UI that helps capturing selfies under low-light conditions. Since the feature randomly prompts the driver to take a selfie through the day, it can also happen when the driver is driving. In such cases, the feature uses a motion sensor through the smartphone's GPS to prompt the driver to pull over and take a selfie. Microsoft's Face API also recognises if a person is wearing glasses and will prompt the person to remove their glasses to accurately verify their face.