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Uber Says It'll Stop Tracking Riders After They're Dropped Off (usatoday.com)
Uber is revamping privacy settings that it rolled out last fall to allow iOS users the ability to deny Uber the right to track your whereabouts. Similar tweaks are reportedly coming to the Android version of the app. USA Today reports: The new options for Uber app users are: Always (Uber is allowed to collect rider location information from the moment the app is opened until the trip ends), While Using The App (information flows to Uber while the app is visible on the screen) and Never (no info is transmitted but riders have to manually input their pick-up and drop-off locations). One of the old privacy features that gave many users pause was Uber's ability to track the whereabouts of riders up to 5 minutes after a ride was completed. Uber says the 5-minute feature was never activated on the iOS version of its app, and that it was disabled a few months after being initiated on the Android version. The company maintained that the feature was to enhance safety, but for many the option was too reminiscent of some of Uber's more notorious Big Brother tactics.
In 2016, Uber settled an investigation brought by New York's attorney general by agreeing to encrypt rider geo-location. The inquiry was sparked by reports that Uber executives had access to riders' locations, and that Uber displayed rider information in an aerial view known internally as "God View." Earlier this year, federal regulators began investigating an Uber practice known as "greyballing," which allowed engineers to take over an app and create a screen showing cars that did not really exist. The practice was used to steer regulators investigating Uber away from drivers, and was halted by Uber after being reported by The New York Times.
In 2016, Uber settled an investigation brought by New York's attorney general by agreeing to encrypt rider geo-location. The inquiry was sparked by reports that Uber executives had access to riders' locations, and that Uber displayed rider information in an aerial view known internally as "God View." Earlier this year, federal regulators began investigating an Uber practice known as "greyballing," which allowed engineers to take over an app and create a screen showing cars that did not really exist. The practice was used to steer regulators investigating Uber away from drivers, and was halted by Uber after being reported by The New York Times.
Pinkie-promise?
Thank you Uber, you're so kind! e_e
I'm not really interested in what Über says, since they lie like rugs. I'm interested in what they actually do. And, for every Evil that they said they did back in the past, but will never, ever do again . . . they are doing ten more Evils, that we just don't know about today.
"Hey, Über just sold my kidneys on eBay! Isn't that illegal?!?!"
"Well, the issue has not been addressed yet by lawmakers, but when it is addressed, Über will promise not to sell your kidneys again."
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I feel this is a new wave of changes coming up with new CEO. Looking forward to changes in Uber.
People wonder why Apple is so hard up on developers, forcing them to run through hoops to get apps up. It's because developers always seem to, given an inch, take a mile.
I wouldn't be surprised if Uber was the #1 cause for Apple to implement a "Location services while app is open" option in the OS (before it was location services whenever requested). By default, when you close an app, the app stops getting location information at all. (You can always override this for GPS apps so they can run in the background)
In other words, by default, once you close the Uber app, the app stops getting location information. Doesn't matter that the app wanted to track users indefinitely, or for 5 minutes afterwards - once you close it, it's gone.
Uber is just spinning it because Apple slapped them down for misuse.
Uber was tracking you when you weren't riding / hailing one of their cars. Then they got found out.
Legislation, Legislation, Legislation. Yes let's worry about shit that happened 170 years ago instead of current issues where a company decides capriciously that where you are, what you do and who you communicate with belongs to them. Way to go Congress!
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
I just used Uber twice over the weekend and both times it failed to detect that we had arrived and the trip had ended for over an hour
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
This kind of surveillance is why I only enable location services when I need them. It's good for battery time too.
The ride ends when the driver swipes the end button. And until he does so, they won't get another job. It's nothing to do with your GPS position.
If it happened twice to you over the weekend, it looks like a bug. I'd check your statement. But it's more likely to be a client error than anything to do with the actual trip, I'd have thought.
Tipping never used to be in the Uber app. You could tip the driver in cash if you wanted, but there was no requirement.
But just recently, they've added tipping into the app. Again it's optional.
Street intersect drop off points, we stop tracking you after the ride.
What next?
We will stop using your camera.
We will stop mining with your phone, we had no profit, we did it just for fun.
We will stop using your microphone
*Uber got sued over privacy*
*Uber won*
Uber: We have had top notch privacy since the beginning
Uber now calls a limo, when it detects a wish for it
*You now end up with a limo outside your door, every time you walk outside*
If they said they will stop, it means they did it before. It is only matter of time, when the next one will come out. Or not. But having a limo outside your door would be fun tough.
Anyone who would willingly pay for and use a treacherous device, a locked-down computer that you cannot control, and run programs (applications) that you have no idea what they are actually doing, is signing up for this kind of abuse. Any owner of a so-called "smart" so-called "telephone" is a patsy, a willing mark, a tourist to Las Vegas, oblivious to how they are being robbed of everything valuable in their life. Stick to free software.
Yeah, they probably do say that.
Tipping.
To the Uber-haters, one major strike against the company was that it didn't have in-app tipping. So Uber added tipping. How is that still wrong?
All transportation companies are interested in how passengers' use of their systems fits into daily life. If you plan a metro network, you will want to know what the best places are in the city to have stations. It's natural for a ridesharing company to be interested in how far a customer will walk after finishing a ride, whether they are in a restaurant district or a residential district, and how their behavior changes when more than one passenger was riding. The subway designer has to guess at all these factors, but if your transportation system uses an app on a GPS-enabled device, it's only natural to use the information resources you already have.
With the release of iOS 11 in Sept, all apps will have the option to allow location services only while the app is open. This would have stopped Uber from tracking people once they closed the app. Nice move by Uber to get the publicity for doing something they'd be prevented from doing soon anyways, though not sure it was worth reminding people that they currently track you after you reach your destination.
What was Uber thinking that this sort of thing should even be remotely possible for them just by knowing someone's GPS location? I can only just barely imagine how it might be possible for someone who happens to personally *know* the person to get an idea on the status of someone's safety simply by knowing their whereabouts, but this would require extremely detailed knowledge of that person's agenda, not to mention knowing that person so incredibly well that they could draw a conclusion about about the status of someone they knew simply from their location data, but how was Uber claiming it was going to help *THEM* accomplish that, exactly?
Hey, I'm fully aware that Uber may just have been bullshitting the entire time, but I can't seriously see how anybody else would not have been able to tell, and called them on it right away.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
So let me get this straight: Am I supposed to be happy or relieved about this?!
Uber Inc. is still a nasty corporation that screws its drives and also its customers. I know I'll never give them a dime of my money.
Is it wrong for me to hope that this corporation goes belly-up and that all of its rich shareholders lose a lot of money because they're stomping on the privacy of their customers like an elephant steps on ants?
Uber has demonstrated forcefully and repeatedly that they can't be trusted. There's no reason to think something is true just because they said it is.
The reason they'd want to track users after the ride ends is pretty obvious. But it's still wrong.
"Uber displayed rider information in an aerial view known internally as "God View."
They should have called it what it is! Voyeuristic, creepy stalker and skank view!
I've suspected that the reason Uber did this was to try and identify those drivers who make it to the "destination" only to then drive for a further 10 minutes (with the passenger inside) to the real destination for an additional cash payment.
It's all academic anyway, since the "feature" Uber relied on in iOS 10 to enable them to force this option on their users is being removed by Apple in iOS 11. Even if they wanted to continue doing this, iOS 11 won't allow them to prevent users from selecting "track only when the app is running".
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Really? There is? Did I miss Richard Stallman endorsing some model of so-called "smart" so-called "telephone" ? Please enlighten.
It's optional if you never get the same driver twice, or they all have bad memories.
Both of these seem implausible if you use the service a lot.
Why on earth would you think that makes a tip necessary?
I don't use Uber, but as I understand it the user can't see their rating until after they rate the driver, and vice versa, to avoid retribution ratings; but that only works if you never see that driver again, or they forget you between trips.
The same thing would apply to tipping; if I was seeing the same driver a lot, I'd think it's probably wise to tip to avoid getting rated down.
Not that I don't tip cabbies, but I always tip them in cash because then it's up to them where it goes, not the cab company.
Hell, I wouldn't even trust Uber to pass on the entire tip, they're already known to lie to user and driver about the real fares, and I figure they would just use prevalence of tipping as a data point to change the base price up.
It's not an issue because Uber originally advertised their service as not needing a tip, and most riders don't. Tips are an occasional bonus, not expected.
Drivers are rating on whether another driver should pick you up or not. If you don't try to rip them off, are not overtly rude, and don't vomit, then you're going to get 5 stars. There are not that many jobs available that they are going to try to stick to tippers only.
Equally they are not going to rate you on whether you are an interesting conversationalist.