Some users of Uber need to inform a four digit code to the driver before the journey begins: this is a security feature, currently undergoing tests in Brazil, so that the race does not start without the passenger inside the vehicle. The security code arrives by SMS and through app.
If you and the driver are far apart, the app can send the user a four-digit string. The race will only start when the driver enters this code into the app itself.
Our reporter Lucas Lima asked for an Uber this Sunday (15th) and received the code via SMS and the app. He was walking to a bus stop to meet the driver.
Uber caught users by surprise with security code
Uber confirmed to Tecnoblog that is testing this feature in Brazil. It appears to some users since june; and was presented, without much prominence, in the Uber Minute newsletter sent to customers in August.
“When a partner driver informs you that he has already arrived at the meeting point, but we realize that you are far from each other, we will send you a security code by SMS or by the app”, explains the company. “The driver must enter the code in his app, to make sure that you have met and the trip can begin.”
https://twitter.com/marjoriemnds/status/1167621875368964096
Some users were taken by surprise and did not know that a code would be needed to start the race. Others remember that this creates an additional step if you ask for an Uber for someone else: it is necessary to send the security code via WhatsApp, or through a phone call, so that the trip can begin.
Be aware: if you receive the code, only inform the driver when you are inside the car. If you send the number before that, he can start the race without you.
https://twitter.com/RenatoJG/status/1168695157014835200
Explanation of the security code in the Uber newsletter:
