Since last November, Uber users have been left with no choice on whether or not they wanted their location to be seen by the app. If customers hadn’t manually typed their destination, the taxi driver was able to know of their whereabouts until five minutes after trips had ended. The company backed their decision, saying it was to help improve pick-up and drop-up locations and ironically, for safety reasons. I don’t know about you, but the feeling of having an Uber driver watching over me like they’re my Mum checking if I got into a friend’s house safely, just makes me feel uneasy.
Protestors to the controversial feature have said that the taxi app can easily gather intrusive details on customer’s personal lives, i.e. where they eat, sleep etc…Thankfully, Uber has finally responded to complaints and the permanent location tracker should be removed in the upcoming weeks, so users will now be given the option on whether they want to share their location. This comes as the business struggles to maintain its reputation after sexual harassment investigations, allegations of poor driver treatment and sexist treatment at their Head Quarters. These scandals hit the company with a viral campaign called #DeleteUber.
In order to rebuild their struggling reputation, Uber have recently embarked on ‘180 days of change’ aimed to improve driver conditions. Part of this campaign, is the new tipping feature which is available in their latest update. You can now tip directly through the app after each ride. And, if you happen to forget to tip, no worries, the option is still there 30 days later. Jim Conigliaro Jr, founder of the Independent Drivers Guild commented “Today’s tipping announcement is an important win for drivers and proves that thousands of drivers coming together with one voice can make big changes”. He went on to say “This is an important first step toward a more fair ride-hail industry.”
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.