Uber to stop controversial tracking of users after their trips have ended

Uber has decided to reverse its controversial move to track users even after their trips have ended.

The company had claimed it would help ensure customers’ physical safety, but says the manner in which it introduced the change was wrong.

Following an update last November, the app forced users to choose between letting Uber always collect their location data or never collect it.

How to improve your phone's battery life

+ show all How to improve your phone's battery life

1/9 Limit notifications Notifications are incredibly useful, but they also drain battery life and not all of them are actually necessary. Switching off notifications for certain apps can help your phone’s stamina. On Android, head into Settings, hit Apps and select those you don’t need to be notified by. On iOS, go to Settings and then Notifications.

2/9 Disable auto-sync Certain apps, such as email and social networks, constantly run in the background even when you’re not using them. This is so you see updated information and updates when you do open the apps, but the benefits can be offset by the amount of battery life auto-sync can eat up. On Android, you can turn off auto-sync by going to Settings, Accounts and hitting the menu button. On iOS, go to Settings, General and Background App Refresh. However, since auto-sync is genuinely useful, we’d recommend disabling it when you know you’re going to be running low on battery life, rather than switching it off all the time.

3/9 Switch off location services GPS is a huge drain on your phone’s battery, as more and more apps use your location data to work out where you are, and shape your experience according to that information. Unless you’re using a Maps app, you can get by without it. To turn off GPS on Android, go to Settings and Location. On iOS, go to Settings, Privacy and Location Services.

4/9 Lower brightness Your phone’s display is responsible for the biggest impact on your battery life, but it’s easy to limit how much energy it uses up. Auto-brightness is convenient, but often sets the screen brightness to a much higher level than it needs to be. Turning auto-brightness off, setting your display’s brightness to a lower level and adjusting it when you need to is much more sensible.

5/9 Uninstall apps you don’t need Some apps drain more battery life than others, and it’s worth working out which ones you can do without. Facebook, for instance, is known to have a big impact on your phone’s battery, and you can eliminate this by deleting the app and using the social network in your web browser instead. On Android and iOS, you can see the apps and processes that are affecting your battery by going to Settings and Battery. From there, work out what you can delete or replace with a less-demanding alternative.

6/9 Cut your assistant off Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly capable, and therefore increasingly important in tech companies’ eyes. Not all consumers share the enthusiasm of Google and Apple though, and rarely - if ever - use Google Assistant and Siri. Whether you use them or not, by default the two assistants are always listening out for their trigger words, and this uses up battery life. On Android, you can switch this off by going to Settings, Google, Search, Voice and “Ok Google” detection. On iOS, go to Settings, Siri and Allow “Hey Siri”.

7/9 Stop vibrating Vibrate is a great middle-ground between a potentially disruptive ringtone and total, uncertain silence, but it also uses up the most battery life of the three options. You can go a step further by also disabling tap feedback, which can be reassuring, but is ultimately unnecessary.

8/9 Turn off connections If you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, switch your mobile data off, and vice versa. Similarly, remember to turn off Bluetooth and NFC when you’re not using them.

9/9 Airplane mode Airplane mode isn’t just for when you’re on an aeroplane. If you know you’re not going to have or won’t need signal or a Wi-Fi connection for a good amount of time, it’s worth enabling Airplane mode. Otherwise, your phone will use up battery life by pointlessly trying to connect to a network.

Picking the latter option would degrade the user experience, as you’d have to manually enter your pickup and drop-off locations.

Previously, users had been able to choose to let Uber track them only when they were actually using the app.

After the update, Uber was able to keep collecting the data of users who chose the "always collect" option for five minutes after their trip had ended.

The company’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, says it decided to roll back the change because it didn’t clarify what value consumers would gain from letting Uber track them when they weren't using the app.

If the company was to re-introduce post-trip tracking in the future, he says, it would explain the user benefits clearly and make it an opt-in setting.

He also claims Uber never actually began post-trip tracking for iPhone users, and suspended it for Android users.

The update that will scrap post-trip tracking is expected to come to iPhone users this week and Android users at a later date.

Mr Sullivan says more updates will be rolled out through the year to improve privacy, security and transparency.