Uber
By MacRumors Staff
Uber Articles
Uber Updates With In-App Chat Between Riders and Drivers
Ride hailing app Uber today announced an in-app chat feature that lets riders and drivers communicate with one another without leaving the app. Uber said this update allows drivers to better communicate with riders when sudden road closures or other delays happen en route to the rider's location. Riders can also send chats to drivers to indicate where they're waiting for the car, or give a...
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Uber's In-App Tipping Feature Expands to 121 Cities Across North America
Uber in June announced plans for a "180 Days of Change" initiative that added a new long-desired tipping feature for drivers. Tipping was initially limited to Seattle, Minneapolis, and Houston, but Uber said tips would be available to all U.S. drivers by the end of July, and the company is making good on that promise. Starting today, tipping is rolling out in 121 cities across North...
Uber Users Can Now 'Request a Ride for a Loved One'
Uber yesterday introduced a new ride-hailing feature in its mobile app that lets users request a ride for a friend or family member in a different location. Uber announced the news in a blog post on its website, suggesting the feature would let users "request a ride for a loved one" such as a senior with limited mobility who doesn't have an Uber account or a smartphone. Now, when you set the...
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns
Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned his position as CEO, following a series of controversies and scandals that have recently dogged the ride hailing company. Five major investors demanded Kalanick's immediate resignation on Tuesday in a letter delivered to the chief executive, according to The New York Times. After "long discussions" with some of the investors, Kalanick agreed to step...
Uber App Gains Long-Desired Tipping Option
Uber today announced a new "180 Days of Change" initiative that's designed to improve working conditions for its drivers and bolster its public image. As part of the upcoming changes, Uber plans to implement tipping, a feature that drivers have long desired. Tipping is currently available in the Uber app in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Houston, with Uber pledging to add more cities over the next...
iOS 11 Users to Gain More Control Over Apps' Use of Location Services
Users of iOS 11 will be able to restrict the gathering of location data by any third-party app so that it can only access the device's location status when the app is in use. Previously the security setting only applied to certain apps that chose to offer it – as well as to developers wanting to test their own app's use of location data – but it appears Apple is extending the setting for...
Apple Music Marketing Exec Bozoma Saint John Reportedly Leaving Apple for Uber [Updated]
Last week, news came out that Bozoma Saint John -- Apple Music and iTunes head of Global Consumer Marketing -- was planning to leave Apple, without any indication given as to why Saint John was leaving Apple or where she planned on working next. TechCrunch is today reporting that the former Apple executive is now looking to head to Uber, although her specific role at the ride-hailing company is...
Uber Fires Engineer Accused of Stealing Self-Driving Secrets From Waymo
In the ongoing legal battle between Uber and Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber announced this week that it has fired Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing Waymo's self-driving intellectual property when he left his job at Google to start his own company, Otto (via The New York Times). In the original lawsuit, Waymo claimed that when Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski's stolen trade secrets...
U.S. Prosecutors to Investigate Uber's Alleged Theft of Waymo's Self-Driving Trade Secrets
A U.S. judge presiding over Waymo's trade-secrets theft lawsuit against Uber has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the claims in the case, it emerged on Thursday (via Bloomberg). U.S. district judge William Alsup also partially granted Waymo's bid for an injunction against Uber's self-driving efforts, and rejected Uber's arguments that the trade secret allegations should proceed in...
Uber Facing Criminal Probe Over Software Used to Identify Driving Regulation Officials
Uber found itself in more hot water on Thursday after Reuters revealed that the ride-hailing service is facing a criminal investigation by the U.S. government. The Department of Justice has reportedly begun an investigation over the company's use of "secret" software that allowed its drivers to operate in areas where Uber was banned or restricted. First reported by The New York Times, the...
Uber Will Make It Easier Than Ever to Delete Your Personal Information From Its App
Uber today announced that it will begin rolling out a simplified way for users to permanently delete their personal information from the app over the next few weeks (via The Verge). The news follows a few months of protests against the company that included Uber's perceived opportunistic business tactics during the immigration airport protests in January, the questionable actions of CEO Travis...
Uber to Make Passenger Ratings More Visible on iPhone and iPad
Uber today announced that passenger ratings will be displayed more prominently within its iPhone and iPad app. Now, a rider's rating will be displayed right under their name in the app's menu that slides out from the left. Previously, riders had to visit an unadvertised Uber support document and sign into their account to view their score, likely resulting in some riders not even knowing the...
Tim Cook Threatened to Remove Uber From the App Store Over iPhone Tagging Tactics
Apple CEO Tim Cook threatened to pull Uber's app from the App Store in early 2015 after discovering the ride-hailing company was secretly "fingerprinting" iPhones that used the app, it emerged on Sunday. The claim appeared in a New York Times report profiling Uber's risk-taking chief executive Travis Kalanick, who was apparently summoned to Apple's campus for a face-to-face meeting with Cook...
Uber Now Lets You Edit Your Pickup Location After Requesting a Ride
Uber today is beginning to roll out a new "pickup corrections" feature in its iOS app, which will allow riders to change their pickup location after it's been entered and a ride has been requested. With the new addition, riders who accidentally enter a wrong pickup location can tap "edit" next to it, enter the new address, confirm it, and send it to the driver, who is updated on-the-fly about the ...
Alphabet's Waymo Accuses Uber of Stealing Self-Driving LiDAR System
Google parent company Alphabet's self-driving Waymo car division today filed a lawsuit [PDF] against Uber, accusing the company of stealing its self-driving intellectual property. In blog post shared this afternoon, Waymo explains that employees of Otto, a self-driving trucking startup recently acquired by Uber, allegedly stole technical information from Google's autonomous car project,...
Uber Agrees to $20M Settlement After Claim it Falsely Advertised High Income to 'Entice' Potential Drivers
The Federal Trade Commission recently filed a complaint against popular ride-hailing app Uber for posting inflated yearly wages on various job-seeking websites, which "enticed numerous consumers to become Uber drivers" under false pretenses, according to the FTC. Uber isn't fighting the allegations placed against it, and has instead this week quickly agreed to a settlement deal in the way of...
Google Maps Users Can Now Book and Pay for Uber Rides Without Ever Leaving the App
Google is rolling out an update to Google Maps for iOS that lets users request a ride from Uber without ever having to leave the app. Previously, users of Maps could get a ride cost estimate and start the process of hailing a ride, but would eventually be kicked into the Uber app proper for confirmation and payment. Now however, users can book and pay for an Uber directly within Google...
Uber Explains Why its App Appears to Track Users Days or Even Weeks After a Ride
Uber responded on Friday to concerns surrounding its app's background tracking behavior by explaining that the issue is being caused by an update to iOS itself, not the company's ride-hailing app (via TechCrunch). Concerns were first raised about Uber's use of location services when the company announced it would track customers' whereabouts for a few minutes after their trip ends and the app...
Uber Pulls its Self-Driving Cars From San Francisco Streets
Uber has removed its fleet of self-driving cars from San Francisco streets on Wednesday after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked its vehicle registrations (via Reuters). Earlier this week, the DMV ordered Uber to shut down its self-driving car test program and comply with regulations requiring a permit to test the autonomous vehicles on public roads. The order came after an...
Uber Update Lets You Set a Friend's Location as a Ride Destination
Uber today announced an update to its app that makes it easier to hail a ride and set a destination directly to person in your iPhone contacts list. After syncing contacts to Uber, users can type a friend's name into the "Where To" box in the app, and Uber will then send a request to that person to share their location with you, which can be set as a destination. The app can also update...