Uber: design features that stop riders leaving their phone behind after a trip

You are a product manager at Uber. Some riders get out of the car at the end of a trip and leave their phone behind. What would you do to help riders avoid forgetting their phone in the vehicle? Walk through why it happens, which riders and trips you would focus on, the solutions you would consider, which one you would ship first, and how you would measure success. ```hint Picture the drop-off Think about the moment the trip ends: which people and devices are present, and which of them could still act if the phone stays on the seat. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the scope only preventing the phone from being left behind, or also noticing it right after drop-off and helping the rider get it back? - Should we focus only on the rider who booked, or also on other passengers sharing the trip? - Do we know which trips this happens on most, for example late-night rides, airport trips or shared rides? - Is the main goal a better rider experience, fewer lost-item support contacts and driver detours, or both? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal that ties the problem to rider trust and to the cost of lost-item support and driver time. - A trip journey that pinpoints when and why riders set the phone down and forget it, by rider segment. - Solutions that still work when the phone itself is the item left behind, including ways to notice that a phone stayed in the car. - Prioritization by impact, effort, privacy and burden on drivers, with a clear first ship. - Success metrics with guardrails against alert fatigue, false alarms and slower drop-offs. ### Follow-up Questions - Riders begin ignoring the arrival reminder after a few weeks. How would you keep it effective? - If you used location or Bluetooth signals to tell that a phone is still in the car after the trip ends, how would you handle the privacy concerns? - Many forgotten phones are never reported. How would you size the problem before investing?