Uber Technologies, Inc. will be asking fares to take selfies showing the sender wearing masks before being allowed to book rides. The requirement hopes to make sure all Uber passengers follow health recommendations and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
At the height of the pandemic in mid-May, Uber started to require its drivers to wear masks when collecting passengers. To verify this the company asked drivers to submit selfies before picking up customers.
Uber said Tuesday it would soon implement the same image verification process for all of its passengers. The company said it would enforce the new requirement on its app in the U.S. and Canada later in September. The feature will then be added to its app for users in Latin America and other countries.
Despite clear recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the enforcement of mask-wearing in public places in the U.S. has remained difficult. According to Uber, it has received numerous complaints and reports from drivers who had picked up passengers who refused to wear masks or face coverings.
Uber's international head of product safety Sachin Kansal said in a blog post the company believed accountability was a two-way street. Once a rider is verified to have followed its protocols, he or she will no longer be required to submit selfies on subsequent journeys.
To accurately and quickly determine if a person is wearing a mask in a picture, Uber will use advanced object detection software. The software is reportedly smart enough to distinguish between a person simply covering their mouth with their hands and a person actually wearing a face mask. Uber said the person in the selfie and the person who requested the ride must be the same.
Uber said drivers and passengers repeatedly violating the policy may have their accounts suspended or canceled. The company didn't elaborate on how many violations are needed for an account to be deactivated.
