Uber is certainly gaining popularity here in South Africa, but the ride sharing app still has a few niggles. Most crucial of these are safety concerns, particularly as Uber drivers are not actual employees of the company.

In an effort to add an increased layer of security, Uber recently introduced a new feature called Trip Tracker. This allows friends and family to track one another's Uber rides in real time, and see whether things are going smoothly. 

While you'll still need to contact the Uber user directly if something does indeed go wrong on the trip, this kind of feature will likely make concerned parents rest a bit easier. It is important to note, however, that Trip Tracker only works on family accounts at this stage. 

As such, users that want to make the most of this new feature need to set up a Family profile. Thereafter, when one of the members of the family profile takes a trip under said profile, the creator of the profile will be automatically notified of the trip details. Furthermore, the profile creator can then track the ride in real time, akin to ability to see how far away one's Uber ride is. 

Uber says the new Trip Tracker feature is available worldwide, along with the Family profile setup.