Uber

14 Nov 2022
Drivers for app-based companies like Uber, tired of their lack of transparency, share their experience and swap tips to help each other game the platforms to their advantage via in-person workshops and Telegram groups, aided by the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers and the Telangana
20 Jun 2023
Behind every powerful AI system are huge numbers of people labelling and clarifying data to train it, contracted by companies like Remotasks, a subsidiary of Silicon Valley-based data vendor Scale AI, whose customers include the US military and OpenAI. Often the workers, who are assigned tasks they
08 Oct 2021
In a legal action, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain and the App Drivers and Couriers Union claim that Uber's use of facial recognition software for its Real-Time ID Check to verify the identity of drivers is discriminatory because facial recognition software is known to be less
27 Nov 2018
In November 2018 the UK Information Commissioner's Office fined Uber's European operation £385,000 for inadequate security that permitted a November 2016 data breach affecting nearly 3 million British users and 82,000 drivers. In the 2016 breach, attackers obtained credentials that allowed them to
07 May 2018
A 2018 law passed in Egypt requires ride-hailing services such as Uber and local competitor Careem to supply passenger data to the security agencies when requested to do so. More than 4 million people in Egypt have used Uber since it debuted there in 2014. While human rights advocates expressed
21 Nov 2017
Following a 2016 hack including names, emails, adresses, and phone numbers of 57 millions Uber users and drivers, the company has paid 100,000 USD to hackers hoping that the data collected would be deleted. This decision was in line with Uber's strategy to try to keep the breach quiet while limiting
12 Jun 2018
In June 2018, Uber filed a US patent application for technology intended to help the company identify drunk riders by comparing data from new ride requests to past requests made by the same user. Conclusions drawn from data such as the number of typos or the angle at which the rider is holding the
28 Feb 2018
As part of its attempt to keep its 40,000 drivers operating on the streets of London after Transport for London ruled in October 2017 it was not "fit and proper" to run a taxi service, Uber has promised to share its anonymised data on travel conditions and journey times. TfL said in February 2018
28 Feb 2018
In February 2018 Uber and the city of Cincinnati, Ohio announced the Cincinnati Mobility Lab, a three-year-partnership that will allow the city and the surrounding area in northern Kentucky to use Uber data for transport planning. Cincinnati, like many cities, is anxious to identify the impact of
24 Apr 2017
Widespread controversy resulted when users discovered in April 2017 that the little-known data company Slice Intelligence was passing anonymised data derived from scanning users' email inboxes to the ride-hailing company Uber. The story illustrates both the power of anonymous data and the complex
13 Oct 2015
In 2015, a data leak apparently linked to the new Uber partner app exposed the personal information of hundreds of drivers, including their Social Security numbers, scanned drivers' licences, tax forms, and other documents. The information was likely to have been available for at least a few hours
20 May 2016
Uber has closely studied how dynamic pricing functions and when it's acceptable to users. One discovery is that round numbers signal haste and sloppiness where riders appear to believe that more precise numbers (for example, 2.1 instead of 2) have been carefully worked out by an algorithm. The
02 Apr 2017
In 2017, Uber began a programme experimenting with using psychology and social science insights to influence when, where, and how long its drivers work. Among other techniques, Uber auto-loaded the next fare to encourage the driver equivalent of binge TV-watching; reminded drivers when they're close
03 Mar 2017
In 2017, the New York Times discovered that Uber had a secret internal programme known as "Greyball", which used data collected from the Uber app and other techniques to identify and bar regulators and officials from using its service. As the company expanded into new areas, its standard practice
23 Apr 2017
For some months in 2017, in one of a series of high-risk missteps, Uber violated Apple's privacy guidelines by tagging and identifying iPhones even after their users had deleted Uber's app. When Apple discovered the deception, CEO Tim Cook told Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to cease the practice or face