Uber Can Track Devices, Even After You Delete the App

Uber Can Track Devices, Even After You Delete the App

  • Apr 25, 2017

Uber has been in hot water for quite some time now following remarks made by the CEO Travis Kalanick that had users believing the company did not care to help employees affected by President Trump’s Travel Ban.

Quickly a protest spread across social media, users of the popular ride-sharing app urged others to delete the application from their devices as a way to pressure Kalanick into denouncing the Ban and helping those affected by it. Members of Twitter posted screenshots of their devices while deleted the app with the hashtag #DeleteUber. Over 200,000 people deleted the app, but as it turns out, it isn’t so easy to shake Uber.

Even after you have deleted the app from your device, the company can still track your location, according to recent New York Times article. Kalanick asked his employees to breach the rules of Apple by secretly identifying and tagging iPhones even after its app has been deleted and the devices erased, a technique known as fingerprinting.

When someone uninstalls an app that uses fingerprinting, it leaves behind a small piece of code that can be used as an identifier if the app is ever reinstalled on the device.

Kalanick calls it a fraud detection maneuver, but it violated Apple’s privacy guidelines. At the time, it was a good way for the company to keep track of individual phones that some drivers used to make fake accounts, boost the number of rides they accepted and make more money.

To keep Apple from finding out about the secret data stealing software, Uber engineers allegedly built a digital fence around the company’s offices.

In a meeting with Tim Cook in 2014, Kalanick found out that he and his engineers were busted. Cook threatened to pull the app off Apple’s App Store, a move that would have cost Uber millions of iPhone customers – essentially destroying the company’s business.

In a recent statement, the company says it doesn’t track users who delete the app, but also said that “being apple to recognize known bad actors… is an important security measure.”

It is unclear if Uber is still using the data stealing technique on “bad actors.”

Featured

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

  • UL Solutions Launches Artificial Intelligence Safety Certification Services

    UL Solutions Inc., a global leader in safety science, today announced the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) safety certification services, enabling comprehensive assessments for evaluating the safety of AI-powered products. Read Now

  • ESA Announces Initiative to Introduce the SECURE Act in State Legislatures

    The Electronic Security Association (ESA), the national voice for the electronic security and life safety industry, has announced plans to introduce the SECURE Act in state legislatures across the country beginning in 2025. The proposal, known as Safeguarding Election Candidates Using Reasonable Expenditures, provides a clear framework that allows candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for professional security services. Read Now

    • Guard Services
Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.