New Uber Update Aims to Improve Ride-Hailing Company Services; App Shares Location Even After Drop-off? User Privacy Compromised?

In the latest app update of ride-hailing company Uber, the company will now be able to track a passenger's location even when the app is running on the background of the phone. The move is expected to improve Uber's services and avoid putting passengers into risky situations.

According to Techcrunch, the latest app update by Uber will give the ride-hailing company access to the passenger's location from the moment they request for a ride until five minutes after the end of the trip. And even if the Uber App is not open in the phone, the passenger's location will still be transmitted to Uber.

The ride-hailing company Uber hopes to use the new information to improve pickup and drop-off of passengers, reducing the need for passengers to contact drivers in order to find the passenger's pickup point if the app does not provide the accurate location. Uber will also use the information taken from the five minutes after drop off to see if drivers did drop off their passengers in a safe place.

Uber also hopes that by gathering more of their passenger's location data, the ride-hailing company will better improve their ETA estimates the help identify the best pickup points in certain areas. According to MobileIndustry, the app update will also help reduce lag time when opening the app because the app will no longer need to pinpoint the passenger's location upon opening the Uber app.

Uber had prepared for the move last year, when the ride-hailing company updated its privacy policy to allow Uber permission to gather background location data. The move received negative reactions from privacy groups and even a Federal complaint, according to the report.

I was @Uber 's biggest fan but hate their new update. Think I may have to make the switch

— Janine Cascio (@JanineCascio) November 27, 2016

Privacy groups said that Uber's move to gather background location data was against the law and deceptive. But Uber responded that there was consent from Uber-users before they took background location data and that a link explaining the changes was disseminated to Uber-users.

Uber-riders will still be able to turn off their location-sharing in settings if they do not wish to have their locations tracked in the background by Uber. By doing this, Uber-users will need to enter their pickup address manually.