Blue badges will begin appearing on passenger accounts starting this Wednesday, Uber said.
Uber said drivers nationwide will see a verification badge for passengers whose identities have been verified with other trusted sources, starting this Wednesday.
Uber’s Zahra Asgari said drivers wanted to know more about who was getting into their cars, so the company created the passenger verification process to give them more peace of mind when accepting jobs.
Uber passengers who have gone through the verification process will have a blue badge in their account section, which drivers will see when rides are requested.
Uber said the verification process involves verifying a passenger’s account against information in trusted third-party databases and that most passenger verifications will be done automatically, without the passenger having to do anything.
“This program aims to elevate and promote a more reliable and secure marketplace for all of our users. As part of that, when a passenger is verified, they will receive a verification badge, and drivers, when offered rides, will see the verification badge on the offer card, knowing that the passenger is verified before accepting the ride, which will give them more peace of mind,” Asgari said.
In some cases, passengers cannot be verified through cross-checking, so they can share a government ID or other documentation to help authenticate their identity.