CREEP ALERT WHEN YOU USE AN APP!

A Delhi girl’s scary incident with a delivery guy calls for a no number-sharing policy

When you order a meal at home, don’t you expect the delivery guy to just reach on time and then leave you to dig into the lovely food? So did 22-year-old Avantika Tyagi, who recently ordered from a restaurant in Greater Kailash-1 via a popular food ordering app. Choosing the app to book her meal got her a 10% discount on the bill, and also something she hadn’t bargained for — unwanted text messages from the delivery guy, ranging from “Good night mam” and “Kaise ho mam aap” to “Mam aapki dp (Whatsapp display picture) show nahi ho rahi hai” at odd hours.

Not taking this lightly, Avantika took the matter to social media with a Facebook post that went viral, raising an alarm and calling for safety in the form of number masking when availing such services. “Ordering food is now frightening. I shared my contact details so that it’s convenient for them to deliver what I ordered, and not to misuse it. Nobody has given them the right to abuse their client’s trust. Now, sadly I have to think twice before ordering my meal,” said Avantika when we contacted her.

However, the app in question — Zomato’s official spokesperson says: “What happened with Avantika was very unfortunate and we are working closely with our restaurant partners to figure out a way to prevent this. We are also talking to our logistics partners and exploring the option of possibly masking customer numbers with temporary numbers.”

The feature is already being used by a few taxi hiring services to help protect the safety and privacy of its passengers in India. With number masking in place, the users (both the riders and drivers) do not see each other’s phone numbers in the app and can connect with an available anonymous number. Anukriti Bahugna, 24, a regular user of Uber app — that offers number masking — says: “I use this service three to four times a week, which earlier meant sharing your number with random drivers. Ever since Uber added this feature, I feel more secure,” she says.

I shared my contact details so that it’s convenient for them (Zomato) to deliver what I ordered, and not to misuse it

Avantika Tyagi

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