Uber's Updated Privacy Policy Spooks Some Users

Uber, amidst its various unveilings and announcements this week, has updated its privacy policy to do two things: make it more accessible for the average user (in terms of length and jargon), and to highlight some changes that are coming to the service. The first part is welcomed — the new privacy policy, which was first released last year amidst concerns, is half the length it formerly was, and has less jargon that might confuse riders. The other part, though, highlights upcoming changes that have spooked some users.

Uber's Katherine Tassi, the company's managing counsel of data privacy, detailed the updated privacy policy in a blog post on Thursday. In it she points toward its simplification, saying the new policy is filled with "much less legal jargon", as well as being shorter. This follows in line with recommendations from Harriet Pearson and her team who previously reviewed Uber's privacy practices.

The part that concerns some is that "in the interest of transparency", Tassi also noted that there are some changes with the policy that cover its newer services (like UberEATS), as well as changes that would cover "potential new use cases". Among those latter use cases is that Uber may ask for permission to track a user's location when the app is running in the background, as well as for permission to use contacts to send "special offers" and such to a user's friends.

Those who are curious what precisely this means can head into the new Privacy Statements page for a read. The new privacy policy won't be going into effect until July 15, so if you're a user be sure to check it out before then.

SOURCE: Uber Blog