Possibly being used to track battery usage by the app, so that they can provide a better experience for users.
How in the world could they tease out the amount of battery their app is using?
Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
11–20 of 22 posts
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#12They have a good argument for doing so... http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/05/20/uber-riders-will-pa... A similar article was posted here a few days ago.
That is not a good argument. That is an asshole invasion of user privacy.
> Chen promises that Uber does not use this information to pry you to pay surge
You're a bit to quick on the "asshole invasion of privacy".
> .. which sounds like a relief if that’s to be believed.
Maybe.
Even so, it is not related to privacy is it?
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#13I've just read today somewhere that if your battery is runing low, the higher fees you are likely to pay for services like Uber. Do you get why? Think for a moment before reading the answer... ... ... Because how could you order a cheap taxi when your battery is dead. You have an urgency and someone wants to profit from it. Like those who sell food in the airport. Like that locksmith who overcharges you if you lock y…
> Do you get why? Think for a moment before reading the answer
This made it seems like the answer was supposed to be strange. It seems obvious that people are willing to pay more in such situations.
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is not a good argument. That is an asshole invasion of user privacy.
> Chen promises that Uber does not use this information to pry you to pay surge You're a bit to quick on the "asshole invasion of privacy". > .. which sounds like a relief if that’s to be believed. Maybe. Even so, it is not related to privacy is it?
There we go, there's the person actually defending them. Nope, I'm not too quick; Uber's a scummy company and this is a blatant invasion of privacy.
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Chen promises that Uber does not use this information to pry you to pay surge You're a bit to quick on the "asshole invasion of privacy". > .. which sounds like a relief if that’s to be believed. Maybe. Even so, it is not related to privacy is it?
There we go, there's the person actually defending them. Nope, I'm not too quick; Uber's a scummy company and this is a blatant invasion of privacy.
No I'm just saying it can be a case of e.g. "don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity".
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#16Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#17I've just read today somewhere that if your battery is runing low, the higher fees you are likely to pay for services like Uber. Do you get why? Think for a moment before reading the answer... ... ... Because how could you order a cheap taxi when your battery is dead. You have an urgency and someone wants to profit from it. Like those who sell food in the airport. Like that locksmith who overcharges you if you lock y…
I'm wondering if the higher rate also reflects a higher no-show risk.
I mean, you send the car there but cannot load it an cannot contact the client.
Does it work like loan classification? Higher risk get higher rates to compensate defaults/no-shows?
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
There we go, there's the person actually defending them. Nope, I'm not too quick; Uber's a scummy company and this is a blatant invasion of privacy.
No I'm just saying it can be a case of e.g. "don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity".
if you see a person who is dying of thirst you do not jack the price of $1 dollar a bottle to $2 just because you know they are thirsty.
this business practice is unbelievable that it is even legal.
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#19Possibly being used to track battery usage by the app, so that they can provide a better experience for users.
How in the world could they tease out the amount of battery their app is using?
By monitoring proxies for battery usage: CPU time, amount of time location services is on, etc. and building a model. It's not an easy problem, but for an app that is widely used such as Uber, it's not infeasible to attempt.
Re: Uber is tracking my battery status, all the time
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
No I'm just saying it can be a case of e.g. "don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity".
if you see a person who is dying of thirst you do not jack the price of $1 dollar a bottle to $2 just because you know they are thirsty. this business practice is unbelievable that it is even legal.
All I said was that they claim NOT to do this within the article.