Uber's latest update allows the ride-hailing app to track user location data even when the application is running in the background. The change in location data gathering is quite apparent — after the update is completed, Uber prompts users to accept the new policy by enabling their phones to make the change.
Previously, Uber only collected data from the user if the rider had the application open. Now, if a rider calls for an Uber and closes the app, Uber says it will continue to collect location data up until five minutes after the ride ends. That means Uber can see where you end up after you leave the car.
Lucky for me, our town is so small that there aren't any Uber drivers in it.
Used Uber to get from hotel to restaurant in the ATL. Nice ride. Used it to return to hotel with ride share. Fellow passengers had been at and were going to another party. VERY INTERESTING ride. Don’t live in the ATL so not much bothered by this Big Brother-ism when away from my dinky home place, which don’t have Uber, but it’s enough to make me think of the tricks Heinlein used to posit for his shady side of The Man actors.
Is there a difference between “closing the app” and the app “running in the background”? Or are certain apps always running in the background?
it sounds like the tracking somehow stays running even if you close the app. i’m not sure how that works, though.