Every rider has asked themselves this at least once, standing on the roadside: is that really my driver? The name in the app says one thing, the photo shows one face, and the person who pulls up... looks a bit different. Maybe it's an old photo. Or maybe someone else is driving that account today.

From today, Tinka answers that question for you. We now check every driver's face.

What changes, in plain words

Before a Tinka driver can go online, they take a quick live selfie in the Tinka Driver app. The first selfie becomes the face on their account. It's compared with the photo on their driving permit using Amazon Web Services face-matching technology. Every selfie after that must match the same person.

Then we keep checking. A driver is asked for a new selfie when they:

sign in on a new phone,
come back after a long break,
change their profile photo,
are reported by a rider for not matching their photo,
or simply get picked for a random routine check.

If the face doesn't match, if someone else is behind the wheel, the account is put on hold until our team has looked at it. No exceptions.

Banned means banned

On a lot of apps, a driver who gets thrown off simply opens a new account, or borrows a friend's. On Tinka, a banned driver's face, phone number, number plate and driving permit are all blocked. A new account using any of them is stopped. A re-check that shows a banned driver's face on someone else's account stops that account too.

The car gets checked too

Drivers now upload a photo of their car or boda with the number plate showing. Tinka reads the plate from the photo and matches it against the plate registered on their account. The driving permit is read the same way: the number on the permit photo must match what the driver typed. When something doesn't add up, the document is sent straight back with the exact reason. It never sits quietly in a queue.

What you can do as a rider

Look at the photo, name and number plate in your app before you get in. All three are checked by Tinka now.
Only give your pickup code once you're in the right car. No code, no trip.
If the driver doesn't match the photo, report it ("Driver didn't match the photo"). That driver goes offline after your trip and must pass a fresh face check before taking anyone else.
And as always: one tap on SOS if you ever feel unsafe.

And for our drivers

This is good news for honest drivers. Riders who trust the app book more, and nobody can take over your account or drive under your name. Your selfie takes a few seconds, is only used to confirm it's you, and is never shown to riders. The rollout starts now with the Android driver app. iPhone drivers get it with their next app update.

Tinka was already the most affordable way to move around Uganda. Now it's also the app where the driver who arrives is the driver we verified.

See exactly how Tinka verifies drivers → · All Tinka safety features →