inDrive

Is inDrive safe to use?

inDrive is a reasonable choice with two catches. On the plus side, we found no breach of its user data and no privacy or consumer protection fine anywhere, and it pays security researchers through a bug bounty programme. The first catch is data sharing: its Google Play listing declares much more sharing than its short Apple label suggests. The second is rider safety, where it publishes almost no numbers. We score it 54/100, between Lyft and Bolt.

The app, formerly called inDriver, is published by SUOL Innovations Ltd and rated 4+ on the App Store. The company says it operates in more than 1,100 cities across 48 countries, and its App Store listing says it is bringing the service to the US, with rides in Miami.

How inDrive's fare bidding works

On most ride apps the platform sets the price and assigns a driver. On inDrive you name a fare, nearby drivers accept it or offer their own price, and you pick from the list, seeing each driver's name, car model, plate, rating and number of completed trips. Drivers see your destination and offered fare before they accept.

That gives riders more control over price, and drivers more control over which trips they take. It also has costs. Negotiation means more contact with strangers before the trip, and in some places it clashes with transport rules. In January 2024 the Philippines' transport regulator, LTFRB, ordered inDrive to stop operating because fare haggling was forbidden by its accreditation; inDrive paused service to change the app. That was a licensing matter rather than a privacy or safety finding, so it does not lower the regulatory score much.

Malaysia followed in May 2025. The Land Public Transport Agency, APAD, ordered inDrive to cease operations after finding that some of its drivers had no valid e-hailing vehicle permit or public service vehicle licence. inDrive was allowed to keep running under a three-month monitoring period from July, and in December 2025 it said it had passed the review and could continue. It now says every driver must hold both licences and e-hailing insurance before being activated in the app. In Malaysia, check that your driver's details match the app before you get in.

What the app collects and shares

Apple's label is one of the lighter ones among ride apps: only identifiers and usage data may be used to track you across other companies' apps, and precise location, your name, phone number and support messages are linked to you. The app may use your location in the background.

Google Play tells a fuller story. inDrive's data safety section lists as shared with other companies: precise and approximate location, purchase history, payment info, name, email address, user IDs, emails, SMS or MMS, other in-app messages, voice recordings, photos, files and documents, device IDs and app activity. For location, purchase history and some messages, the listed purposes include advertising or marketing. Google Play does not count transfers to service providers working on inDrive's behalf as sharing, so this list describes data that goes to other companies. Under our rules we score privacy on the broader of the two disclosures, which is why it sits at 40 despite the short Apple label.

The privacy policy fills in the device side. inDrive's US policy, last updated in November 2024, says it collects advertising identifiers, the list of apps installed on your phone (for login checks and fraud prevention) and motion-sensor data such as speed and acceleration. Where the law allows, it may ask for a selfie for liveness checks, and it names Google and Meta as partners that process some data for their own purposes.

Security

We found no reported breach of inDrive rider data and no regulator decision about its security. inDrive runs a bug bounty on HackerOne with rewards from $100 for low-severity bugs up to $15,000 for critical ones, and the programme reports average first responses within about 14 hours. Google Play says data is encrypted in transit. That puts security at 62, close to Bolt's.

Rider safety on inDrive

inDrive's safety page lists background checks on drivers' licences and IDs at registration, hidden phone numbers when you call or message the driver, live trip sharing, an emergency call button on the ride screen, trusted contacts, insurance during the trip and 24/7 support. After an incident report, inDrive says it temporarily blocks the accounts involved and contacts the authorities if needed.

What it lacks is published data. inDrive has promoted a single safety report for Peru, but we found no regular report for its main markets that counts assaults, crashes or other serious incidents. With a bidding model that adds contact between strangers and no figures to check, scams and harmful content scores 50.

How to ride inDrive more safely

1. Before accepting a driver, check the rating and the number of completed trips, not just the price.
2. When the car arrives, match the face, car model and plate with the app, and cancel and report if anything differs.
3. Keep all negotiation and contact inside the app, so your phone number stays hidden.
4. Share your ride with a trusted contact and add emergency contacts in the safety settings.
5. Refuse tracking when iOS asks, and deny access to files and microphone unless you need a feature that uses them.

How we scored it

Regulatory record (81) is the strongest factor: no privacy or consumer fine, with the Philippine and Malaysian licence orders counted as context. Privacy (40) is the weakest, because Google Play lists location, messages and voice recordings among the data shared with other companies. Scams and harmful content (50) reflects good basic tools without published safety data. For Southeast Asia's main ride app, compare Grab.