Uber Real Time ID Check – How does Uber’s selfie ID check work?
Uber Selfie Verification
Uber recently unveiled a new security system, called ‘Real-Time ID Check‘, that uses Microsoft’s Cognitive Services facial-recognition software to monitor the identity of its drivers.
By the end of 2016, Uber had expanded the program across a variety of cities within the United States, and has plans to expand the system internationally.
On a functional level, Uber’s ‘selfie’ verification system (as its known colloquially), prompts Uber drivers to take a selfie each time they go online with the Uber Driver platform.
Uber alleges that the system helps ensures passenger safety, by guaranteeing that — whoever is driving an Uber vehicle — is an actual Uber Partner, and not an unaffiliated third-party driver.
Simultaneously, Real-Time ID Check is meant to protect against identity fraud (on behalf of drivers), and prevent untrained or unregistered drivers from driving a car they are not permitted to use.
How does Uber’s Real Time ID Check Work?
- Uber drivers (regardless of service type – UberX, UberBLACK, UberSELECT, etc) are prompted to take a selfie within their Uber Driver App whenever they go online.
- Uber’s Real Time ID System cross-references a Driver’s Selfie with a database photo that each driver has on-file (i.e., Uber uses Microsoft’s Cognitive Services Software to dynamically compare the selfie with the Uber database photo).
- If the two photos match, the Uber trip proceeds as normal.
- However – if the selfie and the original photo DO NOT match – it is possible that a driver’s Uber account has been compromised. In this event, a driver’s account will be immediately blocked, preventing them from completing additional trips until Uber has investigated and resolved the situation.
Uber alleges that Real-Time ID has near-100% effectivity as an identify-verification system, and that — because selfies only takes 10-15 seconds for drivers to complete — Real-Time ID will likely be added as a permanent addition to Uber’s driver-security protocol.
Uber’s selfie program is only one recent program amidst a larger security initiative for riders and drivers, including recent programs like Uber’s Share My ETA feature (also know as SafetyNet).
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