Ride-hailing app launches Family feature for teen users
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine arm of major ride-hailing app Grab is launching a new feature for teenage users allowing them more independence while informing parents real-time visibility and more safety controls.
Grab Philippines pointed to increase of Family Accounts among Filipino households the past year seeing sign-ups more than doubled and family members taking around 70% more rides in their first month.
The "Grab for Family" feature will allow parents, once a teen is linked to a Family Account, to receive real-time trip updates, follow rides on a live map, communicate with their teen or the booked driver, an access additional safety tools.
"Safety and peace of mind have always been important to how we serve families on Grab," said CJ Lacsican, the ride-hailing app Philippine arm's mobility head. "We're continuing to build on that by making it easier for parents to stay informed about their teens’ journeys, while giving teenagers the support and confidence to move around more independently."
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Added features
Live Ride Tracking, Trip Monitoring, and automated trip notications are among the new additions that come with the "Grab for Family" feature. All are in line with the platform's Safety Center and Emergency Help functions.
Parents can receive updates during key points of their teens' journeys — when a driver is assigned and their vehicle details, passenger pick-up, destination arrival, and trip completion — as well as a live map for monitoring.
Any unexpected stops or route deviations will inform parents, while the platform itself can check in with teen passenger through in-app prompts for confirmation of their safety.
A Ride PIN feature serves as an additional verification step before a trip, asking a passenger and driver to match a unique in-app code to ensure a teen is boarding the right vehicle, while 3-Way Chat forms an in-app conversation between teen, driver, and parents as a shared.
AudioProtect, meanwhile, enables encrypted audio recording on the teen and driver's devices during rides. These recordings are encrypted and cannot be accessed by either party, only reviewed by the app's safety team once a formal report is given.
