Uber Adds In-app Chat Feature; Connect With Your Driver Without Sharing Your Number!

The largest disruption to payments on Uber was UPI. Now the company has globally released another feature that is bound to please its users even more. Just like its counterparts in other countries, Uber has launched their in-app chat feature.

It happens so many times. You want to reach out to the driver instantly after booking the cab, but don’t want to give out your mobile number to your Uber driver partner. Uber has you covered now. You can quickly access a chat feature now integrated into Uber’s App, which will allow you to chat with your driver.

Many-a-times, it is more convenient to just message the driver and tell them the exact location, especially when you’re in a poor network coverage area. Now you can simply tap on ‘Contact’ and the message chain will pop-up. Grab has had this feature in SEA market for a very long time.

You don’t need to worry about the calling feature, because there will be a call button on the top right of the screen. More often than not, the driver is not able to place a call either. You can just let them know the location you’re going to be at before you leave a meeting or your workplace or even a party.

How to use this feature?

To chat with their driver en route, a rider should go to the Uber feed, tap on “Contact” and then on “Chat.” When drivers receives a chat from the rider, it will be read aloud to them. Drivers can acknowledge receipt with one tap to their app to send a “thumbs up” to their rider.

This does not distract driver partners while they’re driving to your location. Both, riders and drivers, will see if their chats are delivered and read, helping to confirm the other actually received the communication.

“Our in-app chat feature also means that regardless of where they are located – whether it be the Cleveland, Chennai or Cartagena – riders and drivers won’t need to share their phone number with one another when they need to get in touch,” said Jeremy Lermitte, Product Manager at Uber.

This update has been rolled-out to global markets and will be coming soon to every device. If you live in India, you would realise how crucial it is for a country where locations are not easily maneuverable as in the maps. More importantly, sharing numbers in India has proven to be relatively unsafe for some people, especially women.

This chat app is going to make our lives a tad easier, but there still might be communication gap. If Uber India is not able to educate the drivers about this new feature, then it will be plain useless here. We might see mixed reviews of this feature, but it is a handy feature to have.