Code in the latest Uber iOS app refers to adding a tween aged 10 to 12 to an Uber Family profile, with a trusted adult contact and the option to require a grown-up at pickup. Uber says it is not a live product and that its only teen offering remains 13 to 17.
Uber is building an option that would let children as young as 10 ride alone. Code in the latest version of its iOS app refers to adding a “tween” aged 10 to 12 to an Uber Family profile, Bloomberg reported. The company says the product is not live.
“This isn’t a live product and while we’re always looking to meet the needs of busy families, currently the only Teen product we offer is for teens ages 13 to 17,” an Uber spokesperson said. The engineering work indicates it is at least under consideration.
The code points to an account holder naming a trusted adult as the tween’s contact, and being able to require that a grown-up is present at pickup or drop-off. It also references background-checked drivers, pin verification and ride tracking, all of which already exist in the teen product.
Uber has been extending past adult passengers for three years. Teen accounts launched in 2023 for 13 to 17-year-olds and have since reached more than 50 countries and tens of millions of trips, with Lyft matching it only this February. Life360 added the ability to book teen rides from inside its own app in June.
Dropping the floor to 10 would put Uber up against HopSkipDrive, which has carried children as young as six for years. That company’s entire market position is that it is not Uber for kids.
The difference is in who drives. HopSkipDrive requires a 15-point certification, fingerprint background checks against FBI and Department of Justice databases, verified caregiving experience, and training in trauma-informed care and neurodiversity. It says its drivers average around a decade of caregiving experience.
Uber’s teen rides use its own driver pool, filtered for high ratings and experience and subject to the company’s standard multi-step screening of criminal records and motor vehicle history. That is a materially different bar, and the gap matters more at 10 than at 17.
The industry’s record with adult passengers is itself contested, and campaigners have argued for years that ride-hailing apps fail survivors of assault.
For Uber the commercial logic is plain enough. It has already added teenagers and a simplified interface aimed at older riders. Children are the demographic left.
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