Taxi service app Ola cabs was in the news last month for mistakenly leaking sensitive details including customer names and phone number to a Chennai customer. To prevent such instances from recurring, the company has now released a safety feature that will keep all the users number private. From now, even Ola drivers will not be unable to view them.
The new feature is called “Number Masking” and will hide customers’ mobile numbers from drivers. Ola has integrated a cloud telephony solution with which the driver will get an encrypted number instead of real number whenever a customer books a cab.“This was a first of its kind step in the industry towards ensuring complete privacy of user’s contact details. The number masking feature is active for driver-partners in all cities where Ola operates”, Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka said.
In addition, driver calls will now be made directly through the app, cutting the driver’s cost of calling the customer. This also enables tracing the call back to the driver, in case a discrepancy is reported.
Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka said Ola has set aside Rs 131 crore approximately towards safety initiatives in the current year. Just a few days ago, it was reported that Ola has managed to raise as much as Rs 1,478 crore approximately from existing investors led by Falcon Edge Capital.
The company has expanded its services by acquiring rival TaxiForSure last month for $200 million. Recently, Ola brought kaali-peeli taxis and auto rickshaws onto its platform to give its customers cheaper options to choose from. Ola also recently launched Ola Cafe, a 20 minute food delivery service, followed by an online grocery delivery app called Ola Store.