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Uber has introduced a new feature that allows the app to
gather users' location data for up to 5 minutes after the end of the ride.
Earlier before this update, Uber only collects location information
during a passenger's trip and only while the app was running in the foreground.
No data was collected after the drop-off.
However, the company now intends to collect location
information for the five minute period after the Uber ride — Meanwhile Uber
asks customers to always share their location even when they aren't using the
service.
This new capability would technically allow the app to
pinpoint users' precise location as long as the app is running in the
background. However, the ride-hailing company claims it would only utilize this
function to improve its services, according to an online platform - TechCrunch.
Uber give reasons for the new feature
Uber further claims that the new function will enhance
customer safety by allowing it to monitor how frequently passengers must cross
the street following a drop-off, which it believes presents a potential risk to
its customers in scenarios with heavy traffic, for example.
Despite Uber's insistence that the update does not pose a
threat to the privacy of its users, many people have been a little bit worried about the development.
In a Twitter moment, some suggested that the update was
"creepy."
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received an official
complaint from research and advocacy group Campaigners at the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC) against Uber in June 2015 following the
company's announcement of the new update. EPIC claims that the expansion of
data collection threatens the privacy rights of consumers.
However, the FTC did not take action against the company,
and Uber has now proceeded with the changes via its latest app update.
In an update published in 2015, Katherine Tassi, Managing
Counsel of Data Privacy at Uber, writes that "users will be in control:
they will be able to choose whether to share the data with Uber."
The app does allow users to opt-out by turning off the app's
location access. However, EPIC complains that this process "places an
unreasonable burden on consumers and is not easy to exercise."
Several online platforms has reached out to Uber for comment
and we will update this post accordingly.
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