AudioProtect: Grab’s in-ride audio recordings for ride safety

Grab’s safety feature AudioProtect is now available across the region. The roll-out follows more than a year after we first piloted the feature in Malaysia.

AudioProtect records audio of a ride on the passenger’s and driver’s phones. This adds an extra layer of safety to each Grab ride as it encourages mindful interactions between drivers and passengers. 

Safe, reliable rides

While 99.99 per cent of our rides are incident-free, we recognise the importance of addressing the 0.01 per cent where disputes may arise.

In these situations, the narratives of drivers and passengers sometimes differ, making it hard to determine the truth.

Navigating the delicate balance of such scenarios requires a thoughtful approach that ensures safety without dismissing either party’s side of the story.

One key insight we’ve gained is that people tend to conduct themselves more responsibly when they know they’re being observed. This led to the development of AudioProtect, designed to act as a deterrent and an unbiased witness in every Grab ride.

We then took the idea to our users. We surveyed 12,000 driver-partners and 4,000 passengers across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines prior to rolling out this feature. About 80 per cent of them said that they believed that such audio recordings would benefit them. 

Now, post-roll out, AudioProtect is being adopted by over 70 per cent of users across the region.

We will also soon be able to use GenAI to detect in real-time if there is anything dangerous happening in the car, so we can intervene immediately.

Ensuring privacy

Much like an aircraft’s black box, AudioProtect ensures that recordings are securely stored and accessed solely for investigative purposes. The audio recording files will be permanently deleted from the device after five days if the ride is incident-free.

When a safety incident is reported, the recording of the ride will be uploaded and stored in Grab’s secure servers to assist with investigations. These recordings will be stored for up to six months and will subsequently be automatically deleted unless ongoing investigations require the file to be retained for a longer period of time.

Safety as a priority 

Since its implementation, AudioProtect has proven to be a valuable tool in resolving conflicts and has significantly contributed to reducing incidents in Grab rides. By providing an unbiased account of events, it has helped to reinforce our commitment to safety and trust within our community.

In January, we used AudioProtect recordings to fairly evaluate sexual harassment claims against a driver-partner in the Philippines. After a detailed investigation, we found no conclusive evidence to support the allegations. 

Over in Vietnam, the audio recording played a crucial role in resolving a conflict between a driver-partner and a passenger. The driver-partner claimed that the passenger had threatened him and refused to pay the toll fee. However, the recording showed that the driver’s account was inaccurate.

These examples illustrate how AudioProtect has consistently provided clear and unbiased evidence, ensuring fair and accurate resolution of safety incidents during investigations.

Speedier investigations

Since introducing AudioProtect, we’ve also equipped our teams with new tools to assist in investigations.

Our transcription tool allows the team to quickly search for relevant keywords and identify crucial information from the transcript summaries. 

As a result, the investigation time has been significantly reduced, allowing for faster resolution of safety incidents and more efficient use of resources. This enhancement ensures that we can respond more swiftly to safety concerns, providing a safer and more reliable ride experience for everyone involved.

AudioProtect has helped ensure a higher level of security and accountability for both passengers and driver-partners. By incorporating advanced tools and adhering to data privacy regulations, AudioProtect contributes to a safer ride-hailing experience for all.