Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 500 posts

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#141

Post by visakanv »

bastawhiz wrote: post #122
visakanv wrote: post #97

Earlier 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…

> I say this in a general sense, not specifically to Uber. It comes down to trust.

Yeah, I suppose this is true. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#142

Post by bastawhiz »

ak2196 wrote: post #123
bastawhiz wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(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…

>> The risk of abuse is exceptionally low. I call bullshit. This coming from the same guys who were mapping one night stands using ride data? What were you guys studying there. Fornicating habits of young adults in large metropolitans? http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/blog/ubers-deleted-rides-of-gl... I almost forgot about the time you guys were tracking journalists. Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady"…

> Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady" company.

I'm not going to try to defend our reputation. But it's worth saying that things are locked down _pretty damn tight_ around sensitive data. I've worked in enterprise file storage in the past, and the internal security at Uber is far better (relatively speaking), and continues to mature.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#144

Post by 0xmohit »

bastawhiz wrote: post #91
yladiz wrote: post #56

Earlier 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…

Why can't you let the feature be opt-in?

Your iOS app effectively turns useless when choosing "Never". You can't do anything other than booking a cab. No access to account information, ride information, anything else.

----

Yeah, I get what it is when you say:

  Improving "suggested pickup" locations
If your app watches me 24x7, then it'd be able to predict pickup locations better. Good job. It can't get creepier.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#145

Post by jorblumesea »

electic wrote: post #100

There is something very powerful you can do: 1. Stop using uber. Delete it. There is Lyft and Juno (in select markets). 2. Tell your friends about the dangers of using Uber. You can make a profound change by voting with your pocket book. Lastly, believe it or not, a lot of your friends look to you for tech advice. Be vocal.

There's nothing to stop the competition from doing the same.

The real issue is absolutely zero consequences for invasion of privacy.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#146

Post by callalex »

ultrasaurus wrote: post #108
bastawhiz wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(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…

It's a tough one -- I want to be able to opt out, but I still want Uber to drop me off at the front desk not the mailing address... based on knowing that 90% of other users had to walk the same 100 meters immediately.

Then drag the pin a bit further, or even crazier, say "hey can you drop me over there?"

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#147

Post by 0xmohit »

bastawhiz wrote: post #142
ak2196 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The risk of abuse is exceptionally low. I call bullshit. This coming from the same guys who were mapping one night stands using ride data? What were you guys studying there. Fornicating habits of young adults in large metropolitans? http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/blog/ubers-deleted-rides-of-gl... I almost forgot about the time you guys were tracking journalists. Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady"…

> Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady" company. I'm not going to try to defend our reputation. But it's worth saying that things are locked down _pretty damn tight_ around sensitive data. I've worked in enterprise file storage in the past, and the internal security at Uber is far better (relatively speaking), and continues to mature.

Would you be willing to share information about what % of Uber's revenue is accrued from monetizing user information?

EDIT: BTW, did you hear from your support that there are users who aren't pleased with the new feature?

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#148

Post by username223 »

bastawhiz wrote: post #142
ak2196 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The risk of abuse is exceptionally low. I call bullshit. This coming from the same guys who were mapping one night stands using ride data? What were you guys studying there. Fornicating habits of young adults in large metropolitans? http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/blog/ubers-deleted-rides-of-gl... I almost forgot about the time you guys were tracking journalists. Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady"…

> Uber has a reputation and history of being a "shady" company. I'm not going to try to defend our reputation. But it's worth saying that things are locked down _pretty damn tight_ around sensitive data. I've worked in enterprise file storage in the past, and the internal security at Uber is far better (relatively speaking), and continues to mature.

> I'm not going to try to defend our reputation [as a shady company].

Someone well above your pay grade probably should. As far as I can tell, Uber's business model is psychopathic levels of regulatory and psychological arbitrage.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#149

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

bastawhiz wrote: post #128
stirner wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your haughty attitude toward privacy is really chilling. If Uber hasn't received a NSL [1] I would be astounded, and your employer doesn't have a great track record [2]. Please think hard about the world you are helping to create. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_letter [2] http://www.buzzfeed.com/johanabhuiyan/uber-is-investigating-...

You missed my point. I said that if we accidentally started collecting all user locations, you wouldn't have to worry about us getting an NSL because our servers would have crashed and burned and no data would have managed to have been collected. Uber's infrastructure is completely incapable of handling that volume of data, because it was never designed to handle it. As far as software bugs go, accidentally collectin…

> Uber's infrastructure is completely incapable of handling that volume of data, because it was never designed to handle it.

That is completely irrelevant. The powers that be can siphon off the data as it comes in. The danger is in receiving excess data in the first place, making yourself a more enticing target for collection activities.

Re: Uber Now Tracks Passengers’ Locations Even After They’re Dropped Off

#150

Post by dman »

bastawhiz wrote: post #91
yladiz wrote: post #56

Earlier 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…

This has to be a goldmine for divorce lawyers.
Post reply on HN