The last few weeks have been quite troublesome for Uber, the American company that reinvented the world of taxis. While the company is used to being scrutinized by government authorities and its own drivers, recent changes of the company’s privacy policy made many loyal fans look distrusting at Uber. Furthermore, a former employee has now filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing his co-workers of using the mobile app to spy on their clients, including celebrities, politicians, previous love affairs and looking at users’ private information.
This potential scandal stands in a long line of known privacy endangering cases such as the iOS app asking permission to keep track of its clients, even while not using it. Betraying the trust of users led to many of them giving up on the service for good. Furthermore, we all remember the so-called “God View” debacle, when it was revealed that Uber’s executives were using the feature to track journalists and other “important people’s” rides without their consent. This happened in 2014, the same year in which a security flaw was discovered that exposed the data of around 50,000 drivers in the U.S. alone. The latter resulted in Uber being forced to pay a $20,000 fine in the beginning of 2016.
This new case came to light when a former employee filed a lawsuit against his ex-employer accusing the company of “having no regard for data protection” since Uber collected all sorts of data about their customers. This includes names, usernames, emails, amounts paid, pickup and drop-off locations and more. But that’s not all. According to the accuser, the company allowed all staff to get access to the information of “high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances of Uber employees (…)”. One of the alleged tracked celebrities was Beyoncé. The former employee goes even further and accuses Uber of destroying legal documents besides cutting off the internet in the corporate offices so that nothing could be found during government raids.
Uber reacted promptly to these accusations and issued a statement contesting them. However, it’s still advisable to take measures so you don’t end up getting caught on the web. First off: if you’re an iOS user, do not accept the aforementioned request, thus preventing Uber from knowing your location while not using the app. Also, you should use a separate e-mail address for your Uber accountwith the least private information possible, besides protecting it with a strong password, different from the one you use for your private e-mail.
Furthermore, consider using a VPN on your phone while ordering your Uber and during the ride itself. The big majority of VPN providers actually offer mobile support with dedicated apps for iOS, Android and even Windows Phone. With one of these blankets on your shoulders you can put your mind at ease, as your information will be heavily protected with military grade encryptions and strong protocols. In addition, you can also circumvent geo-blocks and access the world’s prime content, even while you’re riding an Uber.
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