Uber says iPhone app's alleged 24/7 tracking really fault of iOS Maps extension

Uber says that the iOS Maps extension is to blame for its iPhone app appearing to track location days or weeks after a person's last ride, rather than any deliberate snooping on its part.

"For people who choose to integrate ride sharing apps with iOS Maps, location data must be shared in order for you to request a ride inside the Maps app," an Uber spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Map extensions are disabled by default and you can choose to turn them on in your iOS settings."

Recently a number of non-daily riders discovered a gray arrow next to Uber under Settings > Privacy > Location Services, indicating that the app had been accessing their location within the past 24 hours. This immediately raised concerns that despite promises, Uber was monitoring people around the clock, intentionally or otherwise.

Indeed similar worries came up in November, when the company announced that its app would extend data collection to five minutes after a dropoff, as a means of refining both dropoff and pick-up accuracy. The company has also had more concrete incidents of abuse, such as spying on reporters, and staff using the company's software to stalk celebrities and ex-girlfriends.

The problem described by Uber could in theory apply to any app integrated with Maps, including its biggest competitor in the U.S. — Lyft — as well as apps that don't depend as heavily on real-time location, like OpenTable.

17 Comments

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

As much as I dislike Uber's tactics, this issue with tracking seems to be shortcoming with Apple all around, and easily fixed with a future update.

coolfactor 2332 comments · 20 Years

It sounds like they are trying to blame Apple for this one, but didn't Uber develop their Map extension?

Grimzahn 63 comments · 9 Years

No, it is just bad coding on Ubers Side. Like regular apps there are more cases where an extension gets ewoked. Requesting permissions when you need them and not allways. Hire real senior davs if neccesary and not kids fresh from school.

Grimzahn said:

No, it is just bad coding on Ubers Side. Like regular apps there are more cases where an extension gets ewoked. Requesting permissions when you need them and not allways. Hire real senior davs if neccesary and not kids fresh from school.

How is it Uber's fault that Apple only has a Never, While Using, and Always option, the later of which indicates the last 24 hours? They've been clear that they're only trying to see the next 5 minutes to better understand where people go after exiting their ride. Maybe they are lying, but to what extent and why? 5 minutes or even 10 minutes sounds reasonable for what the company does.

Notsofast 450 comments · 8 Years

Soli said:

Grimzahn said:

No, it is just bad coding on Ubers Side. Like regular apps there are more cases where an extension gets ewoked. Requesting permissions when you need them and not allways. Hire real senior davs if neccesary and not kids fresh from school.

How is it Uber's fault that Apple only has a Never, While Using, and Always option, the later of which indicates the last 24 hours? They've been clear that they're only trying to see the next 5 minutes to better understand where people go after exiting their ride. Maybe they are lying, but to what extent and why? 5 minutes or even 10 minutes sounds reasonable for what the company does.

Are you kidding???? It's pretty scary how you have been conditioned to think it's reasonable for a company to track you to see were you go for five or ten minutes after they drop you off. Wow. This is how we will eventually descend into the panopticon society that many fear. Google is pushing the hardest to get us there, but it's alarming how many people have already ceded so much of their privacy to large multi-national corporations. Many of those same people would have a fit if the government wanted to do it, but the government at least has some oversight (not that I would support it in any way) whereas Uber and Google have none. They get to keep your information forever and essentially do whatever they want with it. Sad.