Transport app Careem has launched a feature enabling customers to mask their phone numbers when booking a ride, it announced on Tuesday.
The feature was launched in response to demand from customers for greater privacy protection, Careem said.
The feature is already live in the UAE and will be introduced in other regional markets including Saudi Arabian and Pakistan within the next 30 days, it added.
Customers will be able to select an option to keep their phone numbers private to the Careem driver, or ‘captain’.
With the call masking feature in place, the captain will only receive an encrypted number instead of the user’s real phone number, keeping that data private.
It is the latest safety feature to be introduced by Careem, which has previously incorporated facial recognition technology into its app in a bid to become the most trusted ride-hailing app in the Middle East.
Careem CEO and co-founder Mudassir Sheikha said: “Ensuring the safety and security of our customers in all of the markets where we operate is our number one.
“We expect this feature will prove particularly popular in markets where consumer demand for privacy protection is more pronounced, such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.”
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