Right now, user data, privacy and security are some of the biggest buzzwords in the tech sector. While they have always been terms for concern, the number of reports that have come through of late highlight just how much their importance has grown in recent times. Of course this is not that surprising when you consider that mobile devices are able to track just about all of your movements, purchases, interests and everything else. One app which is able to detail one specific area of our lives is Uber. As this is an app which looks to get is customers from A to B, it is able to build up quite an extensive knowledge bank of where someone was, where they were going and at what time. And today, Uber has published its very first Transparency Report, one which details just how much of that information was handed over to local and federal law enforcement agencies.
The report specifically highlights information handed over between July and December of last year and during that period, Uber has confirmed that over 12 million pieces of information were provided on request. According to the details this breaks down into 11,644,000 requests for rider information and 583,000 for driver details. Requests was said to be for a variety of rider information and included aspects like where people were picked up from or dropped off, the fares incurred and general trip requests. Likewise, driver information was also handed over which is said to have included details on the drivers and their vehicles.
In terms of the actual requests, 415 in total during the period were said to have been issued. Uber further details that information was provided “as required” in 21.2-percent of the cases, “as required, after negotiating narrower scope” in 42,4-percent of cases and “as required, unsuccessfully tried to narrow scope” in 36.7-percent of cases. Uber also points out that the majority of the requests were in regards to fraud-related activities, such as credit card misuse and so on. Of course, these figures only relate to U.S. relevant checks, although Uber does note in the report that they hope to release a Transparency Report in due course for those who use the service outside of the U.S. Those interested in reading the Uber Transparency Report in more detail, can do so by heading through the source link below.