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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

#371

Post by lostlogin »

LargeCompanies wrote: post #308
mfrommil wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling bs on "uber as a company is very ethical" and "nothing nefarious is going on": Spying on a journalist: http://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-new-york-manager-invest... Tracking celebrities and sharing publicly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/10/03/god-view-...

- Search Twitter for fraud rides in London .. happens to tons of people a month but they don't care. I got hit up for a 1k ride in London yet im in the US. - Try canceling your account .. you have to contact their support who will cancel it for you. What i signed up once and you let my account get hacked and dont care and I cant cancel my account myself? I have to wait a week???? - SOmeone I know has leased a car thr…

You might want to edit or delete most of that later section.

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

#372

Post by HeavyStorm »

pawadu wrote: post #349
vmateixeira wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but Uber as a company is very ethical If it wasn't for the apparent money laundry[1], drivers exploitation[2], cashing out on desperation[3], and tax evasion[4], maybe I could believe that. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-25/uber-lose... (How can the company survive?) [1] https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/search?q=uber (Closing and reopening with different names in the UK. Apparently 4? times s…

You forgot the best ones: using dirty tactics against journalists [1] and Lyft [2], I don't understand how anyone can with a straight face claim that "Uber as a company is very ethical company". I would rank the company management (not drivers) as ethical as the New York mafia. [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/an-uber-exec-brought-up-the-i... [2] http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/uber-fake-ride-re...

Very rare to have a company this size to be ethical.

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

#373

Post by sdoering »

I am asking myself, if this could mean, we can "kill" Uber in Germany for good. Our data protection laws state, that you are only allowed to track the necessary data to provide the service.

Tracking users after the use a service is imho not really encompassing the spirit of the law.

Surely Uber lawyers could state that this is necessary information for making the service better for the user - like always.

Non the less - one more reason not to ever use a service provided by this company.

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

#374

Post by benevol »

employee8000 wrote: post #234
yladiz wrote: post #34

I saw this earlier and had hopes that the update would just let me choose "While Using" in the app settings, like some other apps allow you even if they request access even while not using the app, but the settings only allow for "Always" or "Never" on iPhone. However, you can use Uber without allowing GPS, so it's not all or nothing. I'm a little disturbed that they need any information after I use Uber though. They…

Uber employee here. We were told the reason to track up to 5 mins after the trip is for fraud, ex if a driver doesn't end the trip when she is supposed to. and to figure out where the pick up spots for each address are. A large building may have multiple points where people get picked up or dropped off and knowing those points would be very useful for the drivers and riders. And just as a side note, take it with a fe…

> We were told the reason to track up to 5 mins after the trip is for fraud

Yes, sure. There is always some sort of "reason" to "justify" mass surveillance. F that.

It's just NOT acceptable. I'll never use Uber again.

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

#375

Post by mltn »

vuyani wrote: post #274
rosstex wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what if the customer swipes early?

thats an easy thing to validate. If the vehicle is still moving, or if the driver also hasnt confirmed the trip has ended you can work it out.

What if the customer gives her phone to a friend (through a car window) during the ride? Similar thing happened to me abroad. A couple of us used a single phone with a local card, so the phone exchanged hands frequently.

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

#376

Post by sdoering »

bastawhiz wrote: post #233
loqwe wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not reassuring to hear that lowly engineers can't access the data, but the axe-grinding execs can.

All of our data is actually hidden inside a mountain carved to look like Travis's head, a la Mt. Richmore from the hit 90s movie Richie Rich. There are many layers of security, including a voice recognition algorithm that only responds to Ryan Graves singing Never Gonna Give You Up. But in all seriousness, I'd imagine the execs need to go through the same process an engineer would.

> But in all seriousness, I'd imagine the execs need to go through the same process an engineer would.

You see. You imagine. You believe. You are told. You do not know. And even if it were so today it would not have to be that way tomorrow. So even todays security isn't enough of a reassurance.

The only secure data is data never collected in the first place. And until the friggin disruptive startups start to recognize this I will try to not support them in making my data more insecure.

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

#377

Post by J-dawg »

Ntrails wrote: post #344
kbart wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Uber as a company is very ethical and takes the responsibility that we are entrusted with very seriously." Probably every company has said that, yet we know how that usually turns out sooner rather than later (I'm looking at you, WhatsApp). "So I know it's not easy to believe, and it's easy for me to say since I work here, but nothing nefarious is going on. If there was, we the engineers would be against it complete…

> Probably every company has said that Does your company have a set of values to which it says it holds itself and its employees? Excellent - lets play Enron Bingo ! Go through your company values and every time one of them matches or strongly overlaps with the list provided in Enrons 1998 Annual Report[1] - Shout "WOOOO" really loudly. [1] * - RESPECT - INTEGRITY - COMMUNICATION - EXCELLENCE

This is brilliant! As a fellow skeptic of "corporate values" I'm going to remember this one.

It might be a fun exercise to trawl through the company values of failed / disgraced companies to see if there's any pattern, or compare to genuinely ethical companies (if there is such a thing) to see whether there's a contrast.

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

#378

Post by sdoering »

flexie wrote: post #335
yladiz wrote: post #34

I saw this earlier and had hopes that the update would just let me choose "While Using" in the app settings, like some other apps allow you even if they request access even while not using the app, but the settings only allow for "Always" or "Never" on iPhone. However, you can use Uber without allowing GPS, so it's not all or nothing. I'm a little disturbed that they need any information after I use Uber though. They…

Violation of privacy laws is one thing and bad enough in itself. But let's not forget that Uber violates various taxi laws as well. In Denmark, just now, the state prosecutor has formally prosecuted Uber for colluding to violate the taxi laws. So far, different Uber drivers have received fines and those fines have now been tried in appellate courts that upheld the fines. Now it's Uber's turn for its part in the viola…

Didn't the Uber execs exactly state this publicly - that they are willing to brake the laws that they see are hindering innovation and a disruption?

I remember having read something like this but am unable to find it in my archives.

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

#379

Post by rmc »

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.

Has there been an independent third party audit of Uber's internal data security? Or do we just have to take Uber's word on it?

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

#380

Post by pcora »

LargeCompanies wrote: post #308
mfrommil wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling bs on "uber as a company is very ethical" and "nothing nefarious is going on": Spying on a journalist: http://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-new-york-manager-invest... Tracking celebrities and sharing publicly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/10/03/god-view-...

- Search Twitter for fraud rides in London .. happens to tons of people a month but they don't care. I got hit up for a 1k ride in London yet im in the US. - Try canceling your account .. you have to contact their support who will cancel it for you. What i signed up once and you let my account get hacked and dont care and I cant cancel my account myself? I have to wait a week???? - SOmeone I know has leased a car thr…

Best definition of Uber that I read in life! Could not agree more!
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