Uber has sparked criticism after its latest update lets the app to track a user’s location for five minutes after a journey has ended, even if the app is only running in the background. Now provide location to Uber all the time, or not at all. Quite arrogant, not using Uber until they fix this. […]
Uber has sparked criticism after its latest update lets the app to track a user’s location for five minutes after a journey has ended, even if the app is only running in the background.
Now provide location to Uber all the time, or not at all. Quite arrogant, not using Uber until they fix this. pic.twitter.com/LVGDNtxzKa
— Nishant Totla (@nishanttotla) December 2, 2016
The ride-sharing company say the feature will help improve safety and customer service, but some people aren’t happy with the change.
Previously users have been given the option to only share their location when they are using the app, but this option has since disappeared.
Uber say they want to collect location data from the “time a trip is requested until five minutes after the trip ends”. This includes when the app isn’t open, but running in the background.
According to the notification iPhone users received this is to “improve pickups, drop-offs, customer service and to enhance safety”.
But users have taken to social media to express their concerns about the update.
Some have called it “creepy” and “scary”, while others have said they don’t plan to use the service until the company changes the location sharing options.
“We’re always thinking about ways we can improve the rider experience from sharpening our ETA estimates to identifying the best pick up location on any given street,” the company said in a statement. “Location is at the heart of the Uber experience, and we’re asking riders to provide us with more information to achieve these goals.”
There is an option on Uber to switch your location data off – but that means that users need to manually enter their pick-up location.
