Waymo Is Carding Some Riders. It’s a New Form of Flattery.

Getting carded by a server is a traditional type of flattery — an unintended technique to let somebody know they give the impression of being youthful than they’re or simply have a very efficient skincare routine.

In 2026, it is all about getting age-checked by a Waymo.

In current weeks, Waymo riders have reported receiving calls from a distant help agent throughout their journeys, asking whether or not they’re sufficiently old to journey within the robotaxi. Some have posted their interactions on social media.

“We acquired a notification that there’s a minor using within the car. Can I verify, ‘How previous are you?'” a help agent could be heard saying in a single TikTok video. The rider responded: “I am 31!”

Waymo bars individuals beneath 18 from using its robotaxis with out grownup supervision. In Phoenix, the corporate gives teen accounts for 14 to 17-year-olds. That hasn’t stopped some mother and father from placing their underage youngsters inside a Waymo, utilizing robotaxis as personal chauffeurs.

To crack down on violations, Waymo makes use of its in-cabin cameras to flag riders who could possibly be breaking the principles. The corporate stated on its web site that it additionally makes use of AI and machine studying fashions, however stated that it doesn’t use facial recognition or biometric identification to determine the riders.

The method is just not excellent.

Riders who say they’re nicely over 18 have shared on social media their curious expertise of being carded by a Waymo. Some cannot inform if it is a backhanded praise.

“I bought a @Waymo age verification name in the course of my journey right now,” Seema Amble, a companion at Andreessen Horowitz, wrote on X. “Is that this the brand new model of getting carded? Ought to I be flattered?”

One social media consumer who goes by the deal with @clarahyee jumped on the alternative to share her skincare routine along with her followers after she was carded by a Waymo.

“This is the skincare routine that made Waymo AND Uber assume I am a minor,” she stated in her video.

Waymo’s age-verification course of might have additionally flagged edge-case riders.

Danh Trang, a South Park Commons companion, wrote on X that he has achondroplasia — a genetic situation that impacts bone progress and is the commonest type of dwarfism. About 1 in 15,000 to 1 in 40,000 individuals are born with the situation, in response to the Cleveland Clinic.

A Waymo flagged his journey.

“I am 39. I’ve achondroplasia. I am 4’2″,” Trang stated. “@Waymo, hope this makes it right into a future mannequin replace.”

Trang added to his X submit that this can be a “fairly typical achondroplasia expertise” and that he largely shared it as a result of he “thought it was humorous.”

He didn’t reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.

Movies of carding moments shared on-line present that the verification course of usually includes a rider help agent asking the rider for his or her age and confirming they’re the account holder.

A Waymo spokesperson stated the corporate will proceed to refine its system and processes for accuracy over time.

“For the security of our riders, we’ve got insurance policies in place to assist us determine violations of our phrases of service, together with age eligibility,” the spokesperson stated. “At instances, we might contact riders to confirm they’re aged 18 years or older — or 14-17 for licensed teen accounts in Phoenix.”

Autonomous automobiles like Waymo have not taken over the world, however they’re already displaying how frontier expertise provides new quirks — and considerations — to trendy life.

In San Francisco, a robotaxi hub, riders would possibly use Waymo like an office on wheels; girls have given birth inside of Waymos; and DoorDash drivers can decide up a pair additional bucks in the event that they shut a Waymo door left ajar.

The automobiles have additionally given rise to new sorts of nuisances. There have been reported problems with fixed honking at the depots the place Waymos cost. In December 2025, an enormous power outage in SF left Waymos caught in the course of intersections.

Advocacy teams just like the Digital Frontier Basis have additionally raised considerations round privateness and surveillance since AVs have cameras inside and out of doors the automobiles.

“The sheer quantity of visible and different info collected by a fleet of automobiles touring down public streets conjures the specter of the likelihood for peoples’ actions to be tracked, aggregated, and retained by corporations, legislation enforcement, or unhealthy actors — together with vendor workers,” the EFF wrote in a weblog.

Waymo stated it protects riders’ privateness however makes use of safeguards, reminiscent of inside cameras, to determine coverage violations.

For many who get carded, it is a reminder: Sure, Waymo is watching you. However at the very least you look good.