In a time when some (many?) people are pushing back with how tech companies use their data, I find it interesting that so many people are willing to give ride-hailing companies theirs.
People complain about ads popping up on social media based on their Google searches, but ride-hailing companies know some pretty intimate details about users – including everywhere you travel.
Case in point, Uber bragging today in a news release about how more than 100,000 used its app in Metro Vancouver despite the company not being up and running yet in B.C.
“Uber wasn’t able to operate in B.C. in December 2019, but that didn’t stop people from checking the Uber app (a lot!) just to be sure they couldn’t get a safe, reliable, affordable ride from Uber,” read a news release.
Then Uber showed just how much data it gathers on its users by detailing who had opened the app in Metro Vancouver in December.
According to Uber, the largest group checking the app were B.C. residents.
The most common home cities of American visitors during the month were San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.
The top-five home cities of travellers from aboard were London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Hong Kong, China; Sydney, Australia; and Delhi, India.
Uber knows who you are, where you are from and, most importantly, exactly where you go.
And, like all other tech companies, they track this data and do who knows what with it.
I guess users just have to trust them.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
