Teens ages 13 to 17 can now order an Uber or food from Uber Eats as the rideshare service recently opened teen accounts to users in the Golden State.
Although not officially listed on the platform’s website, users are now able to add family members—including teens—by selecting the “family and teens” section under account. Up to 10 users can be added.
California will join the rest of the nation, as the last state in the country to allow the feature, according to a list of approved states on the company’s website.
Under family and teens, users select “Invite Family > Teen > Choose contact,” then select the desired teen’s name from one’s contacts, according to the website, which will then send an invitation to the teen’s phone to create their account.
Safety features and real-time updates are meant to build confidence for parents, and teen accounts are subject to limitations, such as from purchasing alcohol, medications, or other restricted items through Uber Eats, according to the website.
Only highly rated and experienced drivers will be approved to carry teen passengers, with yearly background checks for all drivers, and other features such as PIN verification before the teen enters a car and RideCheck—where passengers must confirm they’re safe on the Uber app during a ride—will always be turned on for teens.
Teens also reserve the option to turn on audio recording, which provides Uber with a recording of the ride, as well as accessing other features such as calling 911 or contacting support.
Parents can also follow along with live tracking during a trip, with real-time status updates for both Uber and the Eats platform, and Uber rides are destination-locked, meaning only teens can change their destination, not drivers, according to the company.
A spokesperson for Uber didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
