Uber responded today to reports that its app continues to check users’ locations even when they hadn’t used the ride-hailing service for days or weeks. The company explained that the issue is being caused by the iOS operating system itself, not direct tracking by its app.
Many users had realized that Uber’s app appeared to have recently checked their location, according to their iPhone Settings.
But Uber says this is behavior that’s being triggered by the iOS Maps extension that Apple opened up in September. It’s not due to a bug in the Uber app nor is it a consequence of the recent location services update, the company told us.
The reason this issue was worrisome is because Uber announced last month that it would begin background collection of user data, but only for five minutes after drop off. The data would help it improve drop-off and pick-up point accuracy in the future, Uber had said.
Some users, of course, were concerned the company may overstep here, or felt generally uncomfortable about sharing this data.
That’s not surprising, given that Uber has had several high-profile slip-ups regarding user privacy in the past, including poor security practices around private data, reports of Uber spying on reporters’ trips, misuse of an internal tracking tool dubbed “God View,” reports that internal employees stalked ex-girlfriends and celebs, among other things.
But, as John Gruber of DaringFireball.net noted in a recent post, an iOS feature would allow users to check to see if Uber kept its word about limiting location tracking to only five minutes after the drop-off.
He explained that, in iOS’s Settings, you’re able to track which apps are accessing your location.
Under “Settings → Privacy → Location Services,” an indicator appears next to apps that have recently checked your location. The indicator is purple if that check was recent, or gray if it was in the last 24 hours. He noted also that he had been checking this for his Uber app, but didn’t see any signs of misuse.
As it turns out, that wasn’t true for everyone.
In a second post, Gruber says many readers sent screenshots of the Uber app still checking their location, even though it had been days or even weeks since they last used the car service.
Some TechCrunch reporters here saw the problem on their devices, too.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire