Uber also charges significantly different prices between users.
My friends and I did a test and each time, I keep getting charged at least $6 more.
Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
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Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but why does Uber need/care about that information? If I ask to be dropped off at X and walk a couple blocks to Y, Uber shouldn't care. I can understand the argument that maybe going to certain buildings you have to be dropped off at a specific spot, but that seems like a minor gain for something that's more than just a minor intrusion.
(Uber engineer here) The data is used for (or can be used for) a number of practical and important purposes. These are some examples of what we do as well as what we could do with such data: - Fighting fraud - Improving "suggested pickup" locations - Improvements around POOL (we'd rather suggest a location that's easy to pick up from than one that's unsafe) - Figuring out what side of the street you end up on (we can…
Right! Now that we know you are engineer, you can just as well go to your PM and tell him that people do not like this. I have permanently disabled UBER on my device, and will turn it on only and if ever use Uber again. Big step back for the privacy, and many people I know like the traditional cabs because of that.
I don't know what you do guys, but recently, uber is becoming an uber bloat. Messy UI, bugs everywhere, shady taxes because driver can't find me (?!?!?), also when I dispute my money, they go to my account and not on my debit card, from where they are stolen from! Yeah, I am pretty pissed. Won't use uber anytime soon.
Edit: Oh, and one more thing. Start writing release notes, as the normal apps and people do!
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
You do know that your phone company already has that info, right?
Fair point, however just because the phone company/NSA has this information, IMHO that doesn't make unnecessarily intrusive apps OK with me.
To each his own. In my view, the cat's out of the bag, so I might as well get a better product out of it.
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#214Set to Never. Hum, I think I will give Lyft a try now. Never bothered to before.
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a simple way to send a message: Set the location services setting to "Never" and just enter addresses for now (copy and paste from Maps if it's easier). The important thing is that their analytics will pick this up, and if enough users do it, hopefully point toward re-enabling "While using."
Or don't accept this app update. If/when Uber stops the current app version (with 3 privacy settings) from working with their server API, switch from Uber to a competitor. Apple can also change their policy for ride-sharing apps, to force "While Using" as an option, or block Uber's update from the App Store. Remember that it was only after apps abused the contact database, that permissions were added by Apple to give…
How can you not accept the update, when they do not even write release notes?
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#216Uber also charges significantly different prices between users. My friends and I did a test and each time, I keep getting charged at least $6 more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMm4ehc7oCw
That's clever of them. Perhaps your elasticity of demand is lower.
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well it's the same company that creepily gives me a code interview in the app because it knows I go to a software company couple of times a week and pushes a job ad. Uber has a lot of sensitive information regarding users. Who goes where and when. This in the wrong hand can be very disastrous. E.g Trump to Uber: "gimme list of all people who to to mosques frequently. No tax for you." Uber: "Here you go. Just don't te…
You do know that your phone company already has that info, right?
Your bank has information about your accounts. So it should be ok to make it public, right?
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#218How to delete your Uber account: https://help.uber.com/h/24010fe7-7a67-4ee5-9938-c734000b144a
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Individual users' data is very closely guarded internally. It's immensely difficult to look at user data without specific access. Overwhelmingly, this data is queried in aggregate and fed into machine learning systems. The risk of abuse is exceptionally low. But so you're saying it's possible? Somebody with high enough access at Uber might be able to stalk an ex-girlfriend and follow her home? Getting into trouble…
I mean, at the end of the day, there's someone that can SSH into some server if they were really determined. There's logging and auditing that happens, though, so you'd almost certainly get caught. Could you craft some sort of perfect crime to avoid detection? It would be super hard, but there's no universe with perfectly secure software. It's a big system, and there are thousands of moving parts, and the likelihood…
Firstly, I just want to take the opportunity to thank you for sticking around and taking part in the conversation. While my own thoughts lie mostly with the other respondents in this thread, it's critical that we have channels somewhere in-between "press release" and "Wikileaks" for getting some insight into the workings of companies like Uber.
Having said all that, it's still creepy. And the examples you gave (Google/Gmail, Microsoft/Cortana) are almost certainly also instances where data collected is being systematically used in what many would consider creepy ways.
Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well it's the same company that creepily gives me a code interview in the app because it knows I go to a software company couple of times a week and pushes a job ad. Uber has a lot of sensitive information regarding users. Who goes where and when. This in the wrong hand can be very disastrous. E.g Trump to Uber: "gimme list of all people who to to mosques frequently. No tax for you." Uber: "Here you go. Just don't te…
You do know that your phone company already has that info, right?
In many countries around the world phone companies are highly regulated entities.