DoorDash Cracks Down On Unauthorized Account Sharing With New Verification Method

DoorDash has installed frequent identification and selfie checks for drivers before and after completing a delivery.

DoorDash is making some big changes this year. The delivery app is set to require its working drivers to verify their identities more frequently to prevent unauthorized account sharing, Fast Company reports.

The move comes after pressure from several Republican and big city senators.

Door Dash has pledged to more accurately identify and remove dangerous drivers who received complaints and flags on their accounts last summer so that people who commit multiple reckless traffic violations cannot continue to make deliveries with accounts that are not registered in their name.

The San Francisco-launched delivery company explained that it would require some flagged drivers to engage in real-time identity checks immediately after they complete a delivery on their route.

Additionally, DoorDash has finished developing a new AI system that’s trained to flag suspicious unauthorized account accesses, paying attention to login anomalies from different locations multiple times. If flagged by the machine learning system, DoorDash will now require the drivers to verify their identity before they can continue making deliveries on the account.

In the U.S., the method of verification is two steps. It requires drivers to upload a photo of their driver’s license or another form of government-issued identification, and upload a selfie to DoorDash that matches their identification photo before they can continue delivering. Before signing up, new drivers are also required to submit background checks, taken with their Social Security number.

Before these new safety features, drivers were only occasionally asked to re-verify their identities before or after a shift. DoorDash has already introduced this updated system in several big cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle, but the company plans for a wider rollout next calendar year.

DoorDash explained that the company found instances of drivers bypassing unauthorized user status and still making deliveries by sharing accounts with other authorized users. The company has not released an estimate on how many drivers are using shared accounts.

The initial rollout is now asking more than 150,000 drivers to complete self-identity verification checks every week before they’re able to complete jobs, and it’s decided to remove those who won’t comply from the delivery platform.

Several lawmakers also recently called out delivery apps as a whole to put protections in place to keep illegal U.S. immigrants from driving for the platform.

Republican U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (TN), Mike Braun (IN), and Ted Budd (NC) sent letters to leadership at Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub delivery, telling them that food delivery services are being “infiltrated” by illegal migrants in the country.