USAA DriveSafe™ App FAQ

The following devices are compatible with the USAA DriveSafe App:

• iOS devices running iOS 15.0 and later
• Android devices running Android 12.0 and later

Learn how to download and setup USAA DriveSafe on Android devices.

Learn how to download and setup USAA DriveSafe on iOS devices.

Once you’ve signed up to participate in the USAA SafePilot program, you’ll receive a text message as part of your enrollment inviting you to download the free USAA DriveSafe App. Tapping the link in the text message will take you to the appropriate app store for your mobile device.

You can also visit the Apple App Store for iOS Opens in New window or the Google Play Store for Android Opens in New window to download the USAA DriveSafe App.

After downloading and opening the app, you’ll be asked to:

1. Verify your enrollment by entering the same phone number you used when you enrolled your policy in the program.
2. Agree to the terms and conditions.
3. Enable your device’s permissions to allow the app to log and score your trips.
4. Begin the learning period.

Learn how to download and setup USAA DriveSafe on Android devices. Opens in New window

Learn how to download and setup USAA DriveSafe on iOS devices. Opens in New window

There are 3 possible reasons why you might not have received a text message during setup:

1. USAA’s text message system is experiencing a system delay.
2. We have the wrong mobile phone number on file for each participant.
3. You may have blocked text messages from USAA.

If USAA’s text message system is experiencing a system delay, please try again in a few hours.

If we have the wrong mobile phone number on file, please go through the Update Participant Phone Numbers flow and re-enter the mobile phone number for each participant.

If you’ve blocked text messages from USAA, text “START," "UNSTOP," or "YES" to 855-242-6088 and we’ll re-enable your ability to receive messages from USAA.

The USAA DriveSafe App uses data from a variety of sensors on your mobile device to understand your driving behavior. In order to access these sensors, we need your explicit permission.

The following permissions are required to allow the USAA DriveSafe App to monitor your driving:

1. Location Services permission allows us to analyze your trips.
2. Motion Activity permission to save you a substantial amount of battery power by using the information your phone is already collecting via a specialized low power processor.

Both permissions are necessary to allow the USAA DriveSafe App to monitor your driving and provide you advice on being a safer driver.

The USAA DriveSafe App uses data from a variety of sensors on your mobile device to understand your driving behavior. In order to access these sensors, we need your explicit permission.

The following permissions are required to allow the USAA DriveSafe App to monitor your driving:

1. Location permission allows us to analyze your trips.
2. Phone permission so we can accurately measure distracted driving. We don’t log, listen to or store anything about your calls.

Both permissions are necessary to allow the USAA DriveSafe App to monitor your driving and provide you advice on being a safer driver.

This can happen if “Background App Refresh” has already been disabled globally. To remedy this, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. From the Permissions screen, tap “Enable” next to “Background App Refresh.”
2. You’ll be met with a dialogue. Tap “Change Settings.”
3. On this screen, you’ll notice that “Background App Refresh” is grayed out.
4. To solve this, back out to the main Settings screen and tap “General.”
5. Then tap “Background App Refresh.”
6. And then “Enable Background App Refresh” at the top.
7. Finally, open the USAA DriveSafe App again and you should see “Background App Refresh Enabled.”

If your mobile number doesn’t change, all you need to do is download the USAA DriveSafe App and log on to your account.

If your mobile number changes:

1. Log on to your account on usaa.com.
2. Go to your “Auto Insurance Policy.”
3. Select a vehicle and scroll down to the “USAA SafePilot Options.”
4. Select “Add or Remove Participants and Update Phone Numbers” and follow the instructions to change your number.
5. Download and log on to the USAA DriveSafe App.

To make sure the USAA DriveSafe App is always up to date, please follow the following steps:

Automatically update in iOS:

1. Tap Settings > iTunes & App Store.

2. If you’re not already signed in, sign in with your Apple ID.

3. Turn on the content that you want to automatically download, in this case “Updates.”

Automatically update in Android:

4. Open the Google Play Store app.

5. Tap “Menu” and then “Settings.”

6. Tap “Auto-update apps.”

7. Select an option:

     a. “Auto-update apps at any time”: Updates apps at any time, using either Wi-Fi or mobile data.

     b. “Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only”: Updates only when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

If you decide not to automatically update your apps, you’ll need to manually update the USAA DriveSafe App.

Manually update in iOS:

8. Open the App Store and tap “Updates.”

9. If updates are available, tap “Update All”, or find the app you’d like to update and tap “Update.”

10. If asked, enter your Apple ID password.

Manually update in Android:

11. Open the Google Play Store app.

12. Tap “Menu” and then “My Apps & Games.”

13. Apps with an update available are labeled “Update.”

14. Tap “Update All” to update all apps. For individual apps, find the specific app you want to update and tap “Update.”

The USAA DriveSafe App runs in the background and gathers details about each trip you take, including:

• Location
• Time of day
• If you’re the passenger or driver
• Phone Handling
• Hand-held Calling
• Hands-free Calling
• Harsh Braking
• Annualized Hours Driven
• Potential accidents detected

Driving data is used only to calculate your score and applicable discounts. USAA doesn’t sell or share your data with third-party marketers.

We share your driving data with our third-party service providers as necessary for the administration of our safe driving programs. We don’t share your driving data with third parties for their own use or to marketing companies.

For more details on what driving data is collected by the USAA DriveSafe App and how it’s used, review the Safe Driving Privacy Policy.

No, not exclusively. The USAA DriveSafe App will use the sensors on your phone to collect driving data. The transmission of your data from your phone to USAA requires an active data plan but may rely on Wi-Fi when available.

Wi-Fi can also be used to assist with GPS coordination for more accurate information.

The USAA DriveSafe App is designed to use the least amount of battery possible. Although battery usage can vary from device to device, most people generally won’t notice any change in battery usage after installing the USAA DriveSafe App.

No. The USAA DriveSafe App runs in the background and will track your driving without having to open the app.

The USAA DriveSafe App uses phone sensors to detect when the vehicle is in motion and considers that the start of the trip. It’s possible, however, that the sensors can begin recording a trip up to a quarter mile from the actual starting point. Phone sensors also determine the end of a trip.

The USAA DriveSafe App may have perceived a long period of stopping as the end of a trip. This won’t affect your driving score in a negative way.

In the event the USAA DriveSafe App marks a trip status incorrectly, you can change the status.

Follow these steps to correct a trip:

1. Navigate to the trip details page of your trip.
2. Tap on the drop down at the top of the screen.
3. Select the correct status of driver or passenger.

The USAA DriveSafe App will show up to 30 days of recorded trips. Trip status can’t be changed to impact your score after 14 days.

Statuses also can’t be changed to affect your score once they’ve been locked to determine any applicable renewal discount, even if it has been less than 14 days.

Possible reasons:

• Location permissions, motion and fitness, or app background refresh settings have been disabled. To check your settings, close the USAA DriveSafe App, then reopen it and the Permissions Manager will prompt you on any settings that need fixed.
• Your trip was too short. A trip won’t record if the distance was less than .25 miles.
• If your iOS or Android device is in a low power mode, the trip won’t record. If it’s enabled during a trip, the remainder of the trip won’t be recorded and the information that was recorded can’t be uploaded until the device is out of low power mode.
• The operating system and third-party Android apps that are used for battery optimization, also known as app or task killers, can stop USAA SafePilot from running in the background.
• Specific settings vary by application and phone model. In general, you should be able to keep USAA SafePilot from being automatically disabled.
• We also recommend reopening the USAA DriveSafe App to ensure you’ve verified your enrollment and the app is running.

In order for the USAA SafePilot App to capture all of your trips without you having to think about it, the app will always run in the background in a low-power state.

The Android operating system shows a notification for apps running in the background like this but doesn’t offer a way to dismiss the notification.

The app uses your phone’s sensors to detect motion and determine when a trip starts and ends. Trips under 0.25 miles may not be recorded.

No, the USAA DriveSafe App can’t run if the device is turned off.

We understand you may use your phone for music, navigation or other phone apps while driving. As long as you secure your mobile device before the trip starts and don’t interact with your phone while driving, you will avoid a phone-handling infraction.

Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.

We define phone handling as any time your mobile device is being held, moved, tapped or swiped while you’re driving.

To get the highest possible driving score, we recommend opening the apps you’d like to use before you begin driving and placing your phone in a secure location to prevent significant movement that could result in an infraction.

We also recommend you avoid letting passengers use your phone while you’re driving. The USAA SafePilot App will record phone-handling infractions even if it’s not you using the phone.

Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.

Hand-held calling, when you physically pick up and handle your phone, may count as an infraction against your driving score.

Hands-free calling using your vehicle’s Bluetooth® system doesn’t directly affect your score. But these calls still require brainpower and can negatively affect your driving. 

We understand you may need to make or answer calls while driving. For your safety, we recommend keeping them to a minimum.

Harsh braking is a sharp decrease in speed over a short distance. Specifically, if your speed decreases more than about 8.25 mph in a second, that’s considered a harsh brake.

To get the highest possible driving score, we always recommend driving with caution. This could mean beginning to brake earlier and over a longer distance before reaching an intersection or a slowdown.

We understand there may be situations that require you to brake suddenly, but these should be kept to a minimum.

Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.

At this time, the USAA DriveSafe App doesn’t differentiate between a vehicle or driver making decisions on the road. All driving infractions count toward your score.

To get the highest possible driving score, we always recommend driving with caution. This could mean increasing your following distance to help you brake earlier before you reach an intersection or a slowdown.

In general, we recommend that you place your phone in a secure location before you drive to ensure the most accurate driving behavior detection. This may help avoid detection of inaccurate infractions, ensuring you receive the best discount. This will help you avoid infractions that might be recorded if you drive over potholes and speed bumps, or another unexpected movement causes your phone to move.

We also recommend that you avoid letting passengers use your phone when you’re driving. The USAA DriveSafe App records phone-handling infractions even if it’s not you who’s using the device.

Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.

We understand that some members, such as first responders or truck drivers, may need to drive a lot of miles or drive aggressively as part of their job.

If you do not want the USAA DriveSafe App to record your driving during work hours, please try:

• Signing out of the USAA DriveSafe App before your shift.
• Turning off your device during your shift.

Remember to sign in or turn on your device during personal driving trips—this will help ensure you meet the minimum driving requirements to be able to receive a discount.

Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.

Your safety is our top priority. If a potential accident is detected, we’ll reach out to make sure you’re OK and provide options for you to quickly file a claim. If needed, you’ll be able to call 911 directly from the app.

Just as it does to understand your driving habits, the algorithm in the USAA DriveSafe App can use the mobile device’s GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer and other sensors to detect a potential accident.

If you have notifications enabled, the app will send you an alert when a potential accident has been detected. We’ll ask if you’re OK and provide options for you to quickly file a claim. If needed, you’ll be able to call 911 directly from the app.

Your score and discount won’t be affected if an accident is detected.

No. Our safe driving programs have crash detection for all users.

It's unlikely a crash would be detected in those instances.

Simply tap “No” when the app asks if you were in an accident after you complete your trip. No further action is needed.

Major events may be detected, but not all events. Make sure the USAA DriveSafe App is up to date and enable it to send notifications.

Yes. You’ll need to enable notifications on the USAA DriveSafe App to receive alerts if a potential accident has been detected.

To enable notifications:

1. Open the USAA DriveSafe App.
2. Tap the menu.
3. Tap "Settings."
4. Tap "Notifications."
5. Slide the "Trips" button to the right.

USAA may use your driving data from the app when you or someone else files a claim after an accident. This could help speed up the claims process.