Bolt

Is Bolt safe to use?

Yes, with one blind spot. Bolt, the Tallinn-based ride-hailing company, has the lighter data footprint of the big ride apps: its App Store label lists only identifiers as used to track you, against a long list for Uber and Lyft. We found no breach of rider data and no large fine. The blind spot is rider safety itself. Bolt publishes no figures on assaults, crashes or other incidents, so you have to trust its tools without being able to check its record. We score it 59/100.

What the Bolt app collects

The app is published by Bolt Technology OÜ in Estonia and rated 4+. Rides are provided by Bolt Operations OÜ, which is the data controller for passengers under its privacy notice, so EU data protection law applies to its handling of your data.

The Apple label is shorter than its rivals' where it matters. Only identifiers may be used to track you across other companies' apps. Linked to you for analytics and personalisation are your search history, user and device IDs, usage data, precise location and address. For the app to work, Bolt also holds your payment info, name, email, phone number and support messages.

Two parts of the privacy notice, last updated on 11 April 2025, deserve attention. Bolt uses advertising IDs, pixels and SDKs to measure its ads and to show you ads on other platforms, including Facebook, according to your marketing preferences. And if you are asked to verify your identity with a selfie and ID document, Bolt keeps both for as long as your account is active.

Safety features on Bolt rides

Bolt's safety page lists most of the tools Uber and Lyft offer. Pickup codes stop anyone else taking your car by mistake. Your address and phone number are hidden from the driver, and calls go through the app. Share Location sends the car's make, model, plate and live position to a friend. Emergency Assist alerts an emergency response team and Bolt's safety staff, who make a welfare call. Ride Check flags unexpected long stops. In some markets a Women for Women ride type lets women request only female drivers, and trip audio recording is available.

Bolt says drivers take a live selfie when they register and at regular intervals afterwards, which is meant to stop account sharing. It does not always work. In 2024 a court in Ghana ordered Bolt to pay GH₵1.9 million in damages to a lecturer whose identity a driver had used to register, and asked the country's data protection commission to audit driver verification.

What is missing is data. Uber and Lyft publish US reports counting sexual assaults on their platforms, however late. Bolt has published nothing comparable that we could find. That is why scams and harmful content scores only 52 despite a good set of tools.

Regulators and Bolt

No European data protection authority has fined Bolt, as far as we could find, and the European Commission has not taken action against it. The record has smaller items:

• Kenya, 2024. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner ordered Bolt to pay a driver Sh500,000 (about $3,900) after third parties got into his account, and issued an enforcement notice to improve safeguards. Bolt said its staff did not access the account and found no breach of its systems.
• Poland, May 2026. The consumer protection office UOKiK charged Bolt Operations OÜ over 22 clauses in its e-scooter and e-bike terms, including the right to change terms at any time and rules that put liability for faulty equipment on the rider. The case is open; a fine of up to 10% of turnover is possible.
• Latvia, June 2026. The competition council found that Bolt holds a dominant position in Latvian ride-hailing and taxi services, but after looking at its commissions, app access rules and driver bonuses it could not conclude that Bolt had abused it.

How to ride Bolt more safely

1. Check that the driver's face, car make and plate match the app before you get in.
2. Turn on pickup codes in the app's safety settings where they are offered.
3. Share the trip with someone you trust, and add a trusted contact Bolt can reach if it cannot reach you.
4. Rate drivers honestly and report problems through the app; Bolt says drivers with repeated low ratings are removed.
5. Refuse tracking when iOS asks, and opt out of personalised marketing, which the privacy notice says you can do.
6. Delete your account if you stop using Bolt, so the verification selfie and ID are not kept.

How we scored it

Regulatory record (82) is the strongest factor: no large fine, but an enforcement notice in Kenya and open charges in Poland. Privacy (52) reflects a lighter tracking label than Uber or Lyft, offset by location and search data linked to you and kept ID photos. Scams and harmful content (52) is held back by the complete absence of published safety data. For food delivery, compare DoorDash.