Uber Job Applicant Said He Had Access To User Data For Hours

Uber has been called into question over privacy concerns after news about its "God View" tool, which grants employees access to user data, came to light. That tool has reportedly been used improperly in the past, including having been used to track a journalist without her permission, according to BuzzFeed. Though the company published its privacy policy on its blog last month, that has done little to settle concerns about how safe its customer data is, and now an anonymous source has surfaced at The Washington Post claiming he was granted access to it — and he wasn't even an employee.

In a piece by The Washington Post yesterday discussing security concerns revolving around Uber, a tidbit of information was included about an unnamed source who said he is a former Uber job applicant. This person claimed to have had a job interview in the company's Washington office last year.

For reasons that aren't explained, this job applicant claims to have been granted access to user data — the same access given to Uber's employees — and that he continued to have access to this data "for several hours" after the interview had reached its end.

The job applicant says he used his access to the database to pull up the customer records of people he knew, one of whom is said to be related to a "prominent politician". After a while, his access to the data disappeared. On November 20, Uber announced it had brought in privacy experts to review its privacy practices and offer guidance if needed.

SOURCE: Washington Post