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posted by martyb on Monday December 05 2016, @02:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the 1984-called dept.

Uber is beginning to track the locations of riders up to five minutes after a ride has ended:

As promised, Uber is now tracking you even when your ride is over. The ride-hailing service said the surveillance—even when riders close the app—will improve its service.

The company now tracks customers from when they request a ride until five minutes after the ride has ended. According to Uber, the move will help drivers locate riders without having to call them, and it will also allow Uber to analyze whether people are being dropped off and picked up properly—like on the correct side of the street.

"We do this to improve pickups, drop-offs, customer service, and to enhance safety," Uber said.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday December 05 2016, @03:37PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday December 05 2016, @03:37PM (#437183) Journal

    Yep. Got to agree with you.

    There is no Uber anywhere near me, so naturally I don't use them. But, this would make my mind up to never use them again. I don't really care very much what their reasons are - there is no good reason to track my old ass. If someone is following me a crowd, I know he means me no good. If someone wants to follow me online/electronically, I know he means me no good. The bastard wants to profit off of me, and it's almost certainly dishonest.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:10PM (#437209)

    If someone is following me a crowd, I know he means me no good. If someone wants to follow me online/electronically, I know he means me no good. The bastard wants to profit off of me, and it's almost certainly dishonest.

    But this isn't some stranger, it's big brother who is physically tracking your movements so they can tell if you stopped in a store, etc after you've left the car (so they can sell that information to anyone who wants it, including law enforcement). BTW, who believes they only track you for "5 minutes"? What prevents them from tracking you all day, every day?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:52PM (#437243)

      BTW, who believes they only track you for "5 minutes"? What prevents them from tracking you all day, every day?

      You've got your answer right there...

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:59PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @04:59PM (#437247)

        You've got your answer right there...

        Right where? How do you know where I am?? Are you tracking me???

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday December 05 2016, @05:44PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday December 05 2016, @05:44PM (#437273) Journal

      It's not MY big brother. Probably EF's big brother . . . .

    • (Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday December 05 2016, @07:21PM

      by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Monday December 05 2016, @07:21PM (#437324)

      Tracking you everywhere everyday can be a larger drain on that battery: especially if the GPS radio is powered up.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @08:18PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @08:18PM (#437363)

        Maybe they meant to say "every five minutes" rather than "for five minutes."