Uber to obscure drop-off locations for its drivers to give more privacy to riders
Uber is going to ensure that its drivers’ trip history does not save the exact location of their riders’ destinations.
According to Gizmodo, the trip history displayed to drivers after drop-off will change. Instead of the exact location, it will show the border of the location area.
In a few weeks time, Uber’s new driver app will be released, and one of the new features that will roll around at the same time will be one which will obscure the exact pick-up and drop location of passengers in the drivers’ records.
Under Dara Khosrowshahi’s leadership, the past 180 days have been about making things better for Uber drivers while making them true “partners” instead of calling them that in name only. In a blog, Uber CEO Dara shared, “Four months later, after over 100,000 trips, thousands of conversations, and many bugs reported (and fixed!), we’re excited to share the product of our partnership: a new app built for drivers, with drivers – designed to meet their needs on every moment of their journey.”
In the next few weeks, along with the new drivers’ app, this new feature, which obscures the exact location of the riders, will be rolled out too.
Currently, drivers can track a rider’s address from the data shared on their trip history. Gizmodo reported that even if the rider deletes the data, the drivers’ data stays intact, and an Uber spokesperson shared, “Location data is our most sensitive information, and we are doing everything we can do to protect privacy around it. The new design provides enough information for drivers to identify past trips for customer support issues or earning disputes without granting them ongoing access to rider addresses.”
The move is to increase rider privacy and safety. There have been multiple incidents in the past with Uber drivers across the globe, and this will help, in many ways, protect the riders’ data and act as an additional security feature.
While Uber changes things for drivers and rolls out a new app, it is also making the change so it can comply with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation. It is an attempt riders will welcome for the sense of safety and privacy it provides.
