Grab introduces Safety Centre to Live Activities

The Safety Centre is a feature within the Grab app that provides users with safety tools and resources. It allows users to share their live trip details with loved ones, use the Emergency SOS button if they need urgent help and even report any safety concerns directly.

Safety Centre 

The Safety Centre was introduced into Live Activities and Live Updates after observing that many passengers tend to exit the Grab app once their ride begins. We wanted to make it easier for users to access help without needing to stay in the app.

Although safety incidents on Grab are very rare, it’s not always intuitive for users to know where to find assistance when needed. By placing the Safety Centre prominently within the Live Activities and Live Updates bar, users can quickly locate support when required.

Live status updates

With these real-time updates, passengers can track their ride from start to finish right from their lock screens. This is displayed to users on their lock screens with a dynamic graphic of a car marking the status of the ride. 

We began working on this when we found that users were constantly opening the Grab app after making a booking, specifically to check on the status of their trips and deliveries. 

Now, users do not have to switch back and forth between apps either. The Live Activities or Live Updates bar will show the live ETA of the arrivals and trip status. The vehicle type and license plate number will also be displayed so that passengers can confidently identify their driver-partner the moment they’ve arrived. 

Meanwhile, GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabExpress users can stay updated on where their order is at, whether the delivery-partner is in-transit and if the order has been delivered.

With users more aware of their Grab rides, this will benefit our driver-partners too. When a driver is nearby, the user is given a heads up to make their way to the pick-up point, so they’re more likely to be on time and waiting for the driver when the latter arrives.

Getting updates in real-time

Apple first launched its Live Activities feature in 2022, allowing developers to push live updates to the lock screen. We’ve seen a similar application for sports alerts, flight updates, step count, and more.

Meanwhile, Android’s Live Updates was rolled out in June this year and is currently available with compatible ride-share and food delivery apps.