A security expert stumbled upon a secret feature in the Waymo app, which is used to summon self-driving taxis. This feature allowed her to make the taxi’s top display show any text or symbols she wanted.
Jane Manchun Wong, a well-known figure in the field of cybersecurity, shared a photo on social media site X (formerly Twitter) showing the top part of a Waymo car, known as the “dome.” In her image, the dome displayed her social media handle and various other characters.
She jokingly wrote, “I hacked my Waymo into showing weird texts like empty string, ‘wongmjane,’ and emojis as the Car ID. Please don’t ban me or fix it, Waymo, lol.”
Wong, who is based in San Francisco, explained to TechCrunch that she managed to change the characters on the top display of a self-driving Jaguar I-Pace by playing around with the Waymo app on her Android phone while waiting for her robotaxi to arrive.
She said, “The good old magic of messing around with the Waymo mobile app. I guess their servers didn’t check the input for the Car ID from people who aren’t employees.” She pointed out that she didn’t need to break into the car’s system; all she did was enter something unexpected for the Car ID, something she feels is pretty harmless.
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However, her light-hearted request to Waymo didn’t last long. A few days later, Wong mentioned on social media that she could no longer change the Car ID like she had before, meaning her fun was short-lived.
A representative from Waymo, Sandy Karp, confirmed to TechCrunch that Wong had indeed discovered a hidden feature, but the company swiftly shut it down to prevent regular users from accessing it. Karp said, “Jane identified an unreleased feature given her advanced Android knowledge. We have restricted access to the dome display features.”
Back in 2020, Waymo had announced that they added moving lights to the dome so that passengers could easily identify their vehicle, especially when there are multiple Waymo cars around. The dome also acts as a way for the car to communicate with pedestrians—indicating it’s yielding to them—or alerting cyclists that a passenger is about to open the car’s door. Additionally, Waymo has used the display for marketing purposes in the past.
