Uber Eats is sharing what your delivery driver knows about you as videos of angry drivers confronting customers go viral

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Uber Eats is sharing what your delivery driver knows about you as videos of angry drivers confronting customers go viral
Uber Eats rolls out "view as a driver" mode on its app to ensure a user's safety.Uber Eats
  • Uber Eats debuted a new feature to assure consumers how it keeps their personal data safe.
  • Drivers cannot see how users rate them and do not have access to credit card data, Uber Eats said.
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Have you ever wondered what your food delivery driver knows about you?

Uber Eats customers now have an answer. Customers ordering from the app can access a new "View as Delivery Person " feature, which was rolled out last week.

Uber said the feature allows Uber Eats users to toggle to a screen showing how the food courier views their order.

Once the food delivery is completed, drivers don't have access to a customer's address, Uber Eats said. Notably, drivers also don't know how you've rated them because the company "wants you to feel safe and confident when you rate your delivery person because your feedback matters to us," according to Uber's website.

"View as a Delivery Person was designed to increase transparency and provide consumers extra peace of mind," an Uber Eats representative told Insider on Monday.

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"While most interactions are delightful, we also found that when awkward or unwanted interactions occur, it is concerning," Uber Eats told Insider. "Delivery platforms receive thousands of tickets annually from consumers who are concerned about the information a delivery person has about them after an awkward interaction, so we created a product to mitigate those concerns for Uber Eats consumers."

Zach Singleton, head of product for privacy and equity, told trade publication Restaurant Dive that women are 53% more likely to be concerned about how their data is shared with delivery drivers.

Drivers never see a user's credit card number, phone number, the rating they give couriers, profile photo, or last name. The photo taken of your delivery is also deleted after the delivery person closes the app, according to the company.

Here's what couriers can see during the delivery process:

  • approximate delivery location when the request is made
  • first name and last initial of the users while the delivery is in progress
  • exact delivery location while the delivery is in progress
  • customer notes

Gig driver Sergio Avedian said he thinks Uber Eats rolled out this new feature to reassure consumers amid an uptick in viral TikTok and YouTube videos showing angry drivers confronting customers about skimpy tips or tip baiting. The latter is when customers promise a large tip to get faster service, but they decrease it or delete it after the delivery is completed.

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"They're trying to make the customer feel safe that their information is revealed in steps, and afterward, this information is gone," Avedian, an Uber and Uber Eats driver in the Los Angeles area, told Insider.

Avedian, a senior contributor for the gig driver advocacy blog The Rideshare Guy, said those viral videos make "honest drivers" like himself look bad. He said he understands the transparency Uber Eats is trying to achieve with the customer.

"The customer is the one that lays the golden egg," Avedian said. "The driver is replaceable."

Are you a delivery app insider with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com.

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