Starting Wednesday, Uber says drivers nationwide will see a verification badge for riders whose identities have been cross-checked with other trusted sources.
Uber's Zahra Asgari said drivers wanted to know more about who was getting into their cars, so the company created the rider verification process to give them more peace of mind when accepting jobs.
Uber riders who have gone through the verification process will have a blue badge in their account section that drivers see when rides are requested.
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Uber said the verification process involves cross-checking a rider's account with information in trusted third-party databases and that most rider verifications will be done automatically without the rider having to do anything.
"This program is intended to elevate and promote a more trusted and safer marketplace for all of our users. As part of that, when a rider is verified, they'll receive a verification badge, and drivers, when they are offered trips, they will see the verification badge on the offer card, knowing that the rider is verified before they accept the trip, having more peace of mind," said Asgari.
In some cases, riders cannot be verified by cross-checking, so they can share a government ID or other documentation to help authenticate their identity.
Read more about Uber's rider verification program here.
