Ex-DoorDash Engineer’s Viral Claims Allege Hidden Driver Score and Priority Fee Scam

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — Allegations circulating on TikTok from an unidentified person claiming to be a former DoorDash back-end engineer are raising new questions about how the delivery company prioritizes orders and pays drivers, including claims that the app ignores its priority delivery fee and uses a hidden metric to route higher-paying offers away from certain workers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect new information that emerged after publication. Subsequent reporting found that the Reddit account responsible for the allegations was not credible and that the claims were part of an apparent AI-generated hoax. Readers can find the complete follow-up coverage here: https://www.cleveland13news.com/story/viral-food-delivery-whistleblower-claims-exposed-as-ai-hoax

The posts and videos, which have spread widely in recent days, have not been independently verified by Cleveland 13 News. DoorDash has not publicly confirmed the individual’s identity or addressed the specific technical claims. The timing and location of the alleged engineer’s employment also have not been disclosed.

In the videos, the person alleges DoorDash’s priority delivery fee does not actually speed up delivery. He claims the fee only changes an internal flag in DoorDash’s code while dispatching logic continues to operate the same way.

He also alleges DoorDash makes standard deliveries slower to make priority orders seem faster by comparison, claiming non-priority orders were delayed by about 10 minutes.

The person further alleges DoorDash uses what he described as a desperation score, a hidden internal metric he says is designed to identify drivers who appear more willing to accept low-paying orders. The alleged engineer claimed the system interprets patterns such as accepting multiple low-dollar offers quickly as a sign a driver is desperate for cash.

He alleged that once drivers are tagged in that way, they are less likely to be offered higher-paying deliveries. He claimed the system’s logic is that DoorDash can pay less to drivers who repeatedly accept lower rates.

The person presenting the allegations said he quit over concerns about the metric and what he characterized as unethical treatment of both drivers and customers. He also alleged that fees paid by customers do not necessarily benefit drivers and instead go to the company.

In comment threads responding to the videos, some users claimed to see patterns that aligned with the allegations, though those comments are also unverified. One commenter, Jason Willett, wrote, "Programmer here, and can confirm everything he's talking about. I stopped using all the delivery services once I figured out how slimy/scammy they are."

Another commenter wrote that as a platinum driver, accepting a small order can lead to a string of similarly low-paying offers, saying, "I've noticed, as a platinum driver when I accept a small $5 order, I get stuck in that loop of 4-6$ orders."

One user claimed DoorDash’s CEO denied the allegations, but Cleveland 13 News could not verify whether such a response was made, and no direct statement was available.

DoorDash did not immediately provide a response to questions about whether its priority delivery fee affects dispatching decisions, whether any deliberate delays are applied to non-priority orders, or whether any internal scoring system influences which drivers see higher-paying offers.

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