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posted by cmn32480 on Friday December 04 2015, @01:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the are-they-here-yet dept.

Ride-hailing company Uber has changed its application programming interface (API) to allow iOS and Android developers to integrate a "Ride Request Button" into their apps:

Uber's latest growth strategy is to colonize the mobile app landscape with its new Ride Request Button. Launching today, iOS and Android app developers can more easily plug in an SDK with a few lines of code to add a Ride Request Button to their apps that deep-links into Uber's app. In exchange for the literal traffic, Uber will pay US developers $5 for each first-time rider they refer. Previously, developers had to hassle with building custom deep-linked integrations.

TechCrunch initially reported that Uber's policy banned app developers from adding similar hooks to competing services such as Lyft. The article has been updated to state the following:

What developers can't do is put the Uber button next to links or buttons for other car services, according to Uber's API terms, which say:

"You may not use the Uber API, Uber API Materials, or Uber Data in any manner that is competitive to Uber or the Uber Services, including, without limitation, in connection with any application, website or other product or service that also includes, features, endorses, or otherwise supports in any way a third party that provides services competitive to Uber's products and services, in our sole discretion."

The company confirmed to me that this policy stands for the Ride Request Button. It claims that this is because it wants to offer a consistent Uber experience in other apps, but it's a thinly veiled attack on competitors. Some services like Slack offer ways to instantly book a Lyft, and brands like Starbucks have built loyalty programs with the pink mustache cars. Uber's policy incentivizes it racing to sign up partners for its API as a way to block Lyft from getting integrated too if it launches an official API.

The latest version of Google Maps on iOS and Android adds an advertisment showing an Uber(X) fare estimate below public transportation options (a combination of bus and rail). Previously this had been introduced in 2014 for users in select cities.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by goodie on Friday December 04 2015, @01:56PM

    by goodie (1877) on Friday December 04 2015, @01:56PM (#271782) Journal

    Go f$ck yourself. If I write an app and I want to offer choice to my users, I will do what I want. That's like Microsoft saying visiting Google should not provide any links to Chrome etc.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @02:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @02:16PM (#271786)

    I haven't fsck'ed myself in ages, but then, I do run a modern file system.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by wonkey_monkey on Friday December 04 2015, @02:49PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Friday December 04 2015, @02:49PM (#271798) Homepage

    Go f$ck yourself.

    Not the kind of ride I'm lookin' for.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk