To enhance safety, Ola masks customers' numbers from drivers

The company has integrated a cloud telephony solution that sends an encrypted number to the driver, whenever someone books a cab

To enhance the safety of millions of its users, app-based taxi aggregator Ola on Saturday said it would mask the phone numbers of its customers from the drivers on its network.

Ola is investing $20 million (Rs 130 crore) on safety initiatives this year.

The number-masking feature was active for driver-partners across all cities where Ola operated, read a company statement.

To enable number-masking and traceability of calls, the company has integrated a cloud telephony solution that sends an encrypted number to the driver, whenever a customer books a cab. All further communication from the driver is channelled through this number.

When drivers call customer from their Ola device, they will not see the customer’s mobile number, though the call will be connected. With this, driver-partners will not bear the cost of calls made to customers, as they would be routed directly through the device. The company said this was a first-of-its-kind feature in the sector, aimed at ensuring complete privacy of a user’s contact details.

The feature comes in the wake of Ola accidentally leaking phone numbers and addresses of customers to a person based in Chennai last month. Subsequently, the company plugged the bug in its software programme, after the person put out a public notice on Facebook with screen grabs of the correspondence.

“Millions of customers use the Ola app as their preferred choice to access a wide range of personal transportation options every day. As a technology platform, we are committed to bringing scalable and sustainable programmes to ensure user safety and security are always above everything else,” said Pranay Jivrajka, chief operating officer, Ola. “The number-masking feature brings enhanced privacy for users, reducing the risk of any untoward experience for them. While driver-partners can save on calling costs, we will be able to monitor driver behaviour and conversations, resulting in a superior experience for users.”

All driver-partners on the Ola platform are verified and licensed by local authorities. They had to mandatorily undergo training during on-boarding and subsequent feedback-driven training from time to time, the firm said.

Ola has about 250,000 cabs and 65,000 auto-rickshaws on its network, across 100 cities.