Uber announced on Wednesday that they have been woking on two new features for their clients: a way for you to Uber directly to a person in your contacts, and a way to unlock custom Snapchat filters so you can Snap while you ride.
Uber With Snapchat Integration
Uber released features to make the journey as anticipated as the destination itself. According to Mashable, Uber users can unlock exclusive filters to use on Snapchat within the ride-hailing app. The update is part of Uber's push to make its app more personalized and was released this week along with the ability to set a person, not an address, as your destination.
The feature is available in the feed of every user's Uber app after the start a ride. They can swipe between three different cards, "Your ETA," "Your Ride" and "Mystery." When you click on "Unlock filter," Snapchat app, if you have it installed, will automatically open.
With our Snapchat integration, you can now unlock custom Uber filters while you ride. Whether you want to let friends know when you’ll arrive with our ETA filters, show how you roll with our ride filters or select a mystery filter for an added surprise, you now have a fun and social way to share you’re in an Uber.
For all Snapchat fans, this announcement is such a fun update. Drivers aren't encouraged to snap, and it's not like you as a rider couldn't access Snapchat previously. But as Uber wrote in a blog post, "Gone are the days of toggling between apps. Have a little extra fun getting to that someone!"
Uber To A Person
As announced by Uber's blog post, "If you’re catching up with friends when out of town, meeting your sister at the mall, or joining coworkers for drinks, now you can skip the back and forth. Just Uber directly to them!" To start with, these are the things you will do.
- Sync your contacts with the Uber app
- Type in a friend’s name in the “Where to?” box
- Your friend will receive a request from Uber to provide their current static location
- Once they accept, their location is used as your destination and you can be on your way!
The upside of this update, according to NPR, is that you, as the user of Uber, don't have to have that "where are you? where should we meet?" conversation. While the downside is that once your friend confirms their location to Uber, the location becomes locked in as "static" and the friend better not move.
