Love them or loathe them, ridesharing apps like Lyft and Uber have rapidly transformed the way we get around.
In busy cities and towns, getting a lift anytime, anywhere has proven an irresistible premise to the devotees of these services, despite many controversies over privacy and real-time location data collection.
This week, we’ll look at what kind of privacy concerns affect ridesharing apps, and what ridesharing converts can do to reduce their risk.
##What do they collect?## Ridesharing apps, as a basic function, will need access to your device’s GPS capabilities to find nearby drivers. The apps can vary in how much data they collect, but it isn’t unheard of for them to store information about where their users are going… and how long they stay there.
This can be used for marketing or service improvement. (See our article: What Are Your Apps Saying About You? for the lowdown on how companies can use this data.)
Social media accounts are frequently linked to ridesharing services, both as a way of promotion, identity confirmation, and to facilitate easy and quick signup for new users. However, some apps might pull information from your profile that might not be immediately relevant to getting a lift – for example, your birthdate, friends and Likes.
Finally, many ridesharing companies also use the mobile app as a cashless payment method, allowing you to pay at the end of your ride. This often requires the storage of credit card information, so it’s easy to see that choosing a ridesharing app is nothing to take lightly.
##Choosing an app## Some factors might force our hand when choosing a ridesharing app, namely its popularity in our locale. However, it’s important to investigate the company’s privacy policy to make sure that your sensitive data is in good hands.
A good privacy policy (found at the app’s website) should clearly show which user data is being accessed, and which data is being sent to third parties. Companies might simply share general usage statistics to advertisers, while others may send user-identifying data.
Data leaks can happen during this transfer process, or might even affect the advertiser without directly striking the ridesharing service itself. Should this happen, it can affect thousands of users – and given the sensitive nature of the information that ridesharing apps collect, it’s potentially a gold mine for many cyber criminals.
Another great resource is to read customer reviews on the App Store, Google Play and around the Internet. This can be a great way to get a feel for how the company values their clients, their privacy and how they conduct their business.
We’re still waiting for proper regulation of this brand new industry, and the security standards that come with it. Until then, you, the consumer will need to do your homework. After all, it’s your information at stake.
