Uber Rides Can Be Video-Recorded Now: Mumbai Driver Uses 'Record My Ride' Feature To Counter ‘Molestation Charge’

A recent Mumbai case has put the spotlight on Uber’s Record My Ride safety feature after an Uber driver accused of molestation told police that he had recorded the trip using the company’s in-app tool. The driver denied the allegation and informed police about the recording through Uber’s Record My Ride. Following a request from the police, Uber retrieved and shared the recording with the authorities. The video and audio reportedly captured the exchange between the driver and passenger, including the complainant allegedly threatening to implicate the driver following their disagreement.

The recording helped verify the driver’s account and establish that the molestation allegation was unfounded. The incident raises an obvious question: how does

Uber’s in-app recording actually work, and who can access the footage?

News18 spoke to Sooraj Nair, Director – Safety Operations, Uber India & South Asia, about Record My Ride, including how recordings are stored, when Uber can access them, how police can obtain them and whether the feature is designed to protect both riders and drivers. Edited excerpts:

Q: How does the in-app audio/video recording feature actually work end-to-end — is it opt-in per ride, does it record continuously in the background, and does the driver or rider get any indication that a recording is active during the trip?

Record My Ride is an opt-in driver-led safety feature that enables encrypted in-cab video recording using the driver’s phone within the Uber app. Riders are notified when matched with a driver who may record the trip, and can cancel without a cancellation fee if they are uncomfortable.

Once activated by the driver, the feature records the trip until the trip ends. The recording remains encrypted on the driver’s device and cannot be viewed or edited by the driver or accessed by Uber unless the driver chooses to submit it as part of a safety report.

Q: How is the recorded data stored and secured, and under what specific conditions does Uber share it with law enforcement? Is there a formal request/verification process, and how long is the recording retained before it’s deleted if no incident is reported?

Recordings remain encrypted on the driver’s device and cannot ordinarily be viewed by the driver or Uber. They become accessible to Uber only when the driver submits them as part of a safety report.

Under our updated guidelines, recordings remain on the device for up to 14 days and are automatically deleted if they are not submitted. Uber may provide submitted recordings to law enforcement upon receipt of a valid request and in accordance with applicable laws and our established law-enforcement response processes. Privacy has been central to the design of Record My Ride.

Q: Cases like this cut both ways. They can clear an innocent driver, but they could equally be used to discredit a genuine complainant if the footage is selectively used or misinterpreted. How does Uber ensure the tool protects both riders and drivers equally, rather than functioning as a de facto shield primarily for one side?

That’s precisely why the feature is designed to provide an objective record – not to favour either side. Our safety approach is equitable for riders and drivers. The recording cannot be viewed, edited or selectively clipped by the driver before it is submitted. When a serious safety incident is reported, the recording is one input that can help Uber or law enforcement establish what happened; it does not replace an investigation or determine an outcome on its own. The value of the feature is not whom it protects, it’s the additional clarity it can provide.

Q: How many times has Uber India been approached by law enforcement for in-app recordings in the past year, and in how many of those cases did the recording help resolve a dispute one way or another (cleared vs. confirmed an allegation)?

We don’t currently break out data on law-enforcement requests specifically relating to individual safety features such as Audio Recording or Record My Ride.

What we can say is that we work closely with law enforcement on serious safety investigations and respond to valid requests for information in accordance with applicable laws. Record My Ride is relatively new in India, and this case provides an early example of how encrypted trip recordings can help establish facts during an investigation.

Q: For a rider or driver involved in an incident, what does the actual process look like on their end? Do they request the recording themselves, or does it only surface if police or Uber’s safety team pulls it? How long does that turnaround typically take?

The recording remains encrypted and cannot simply be pulled or viewed by Uber’s safety team. If a driver has recorded a trip and subsequently reports a safety incident, they can choose to submit that recording as part of their report. Once submitted, it can be reviewed as part of the safety investigation by the assigned safety agent only and, where appropriate, provided to law enforcement in response to a valid request.

Record My Ride Launch In India

Uber began piloting its in-app video recording feature in India in May 2025, initially rolling it out in phases across 10 cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Jaipur and Lucknow. Uber formally announced the wider Record My Ride feature in India in June 2026, saying it was being made available across its India cities for car and auto trips. Note that Uber’s audio-recording feature is there for quite some time now. It was launched in India in December 2023. The video-based Record My Ride feature is the new feature.

Record My Ride is an opt-in, driver-led safety feature that uses the driver’s smartphone camera and microphone to record a trip. Riders are notified in the Uber app when they are matched with a driver who may record the trip. Uber says riders who are uncomfortable with this can cancel without a cancellation fee.

Once activated, the recording continues during the trip. The footage remains encrypted on the driver’s phone. The driver cannot normally watch or edit it, and Uber cannot access it unless the driver submits it as part of a safety report. Recordings that are not submitted are automatically deleted from the driver’s device after up to 14 days. Uber says submitted recordings can be reviewed as part of a safety investigation and, where appropriate, provided to law enforcement in response to a valid request.