Uber adds trip audio recording for UK riders
Key Points
- Uber riders in the UK can record audio during any trip through the Safety Toolkit in the app and share it with Uber's safety team.
- The recording stays encrypted on the rider's phone, and nobody in the car - including the rider - can play it back.
- Uber only gains access if the rider attaches the file to a safety report; unshared recordings delete themselves after 14 days.
- Recording is off by default, activates trip by trip, and drivers get a notification before pick-up.
- The feature arrived in the UK on 28 May 2026 alongside verified passenger badges.
Uber riders in the UK can now record audio during any trip and send it to the company’s Safety Support team as part of an incident report.
The feature forms part of the app’s Safety Toolkit, which riders reach by tapping the blue shield icon on the map during a trip. Riders need the newest version of the Uber app to see the Record Audio option.
Recording starts and stops manually, and riders can start and stop it more than once on the same journey. It is not on by default and never records automatically.
The audio file encrypts and sits on the rider’s own device. Nobody in the vehicle can listen back to it – not the rider, not the driver, not another passenger – and Uber cannot open it either unless the rider attaches it to a safety report. Recordings that riders don’t share will automatically delete themselves after 14 days.
Drivers find out before pick-up that a rider has set the feature up, and they can cancel the trip without penalty rather than accept a journey that may be recorded. Riders who activate recording for the first time mid-trip trigger that notification for future drivers instead.
Uber launched the tool across the UK alongside verified passenger badges, which display on the profiles of riders who upload official ID and a selfie or pass a check against third-party databases. “These new safety features provide both riders and drivers with extra peace of mind,” said Andrew Brem, General Manager at Uber UK.
The recording covers safety issues only. Riders with fare disputes, lost property or other complaints go through the Help menu in the app, and Uber’s safety specialists will not review audio submitted for those reasons.
