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Lyft Investigates Claims of Spying on Passengers, Including Mark Zuckerberg

Brendan Dorsey
Brendan Dorsey
Contributor
Born and raised in Northern California, schooled in our Nation's capital, and currently working in the greatest city in the world - NYC. I was instantly hooked to traveling the second I stepped foot in Europe. The addiction only grew once I found out I could do it for free, all on points and miles. I could also eat bagels for every meal.
Jan. 26, 2018
•
3 min read
lyft-featured
Lyft Investigates Claims of Spying on Passengers, Including Mark Zuckerberg
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Lyft, the ride-hailing company that brands itself as the more friendly version of Uber, is in hot water. The Information reported yesterday that Lyft is investigating allegations that its current or former employees tracked Lyft riders and accessed their information when they weren't supposed to.

Employees were allegedly tracking romantic partners and even celebrities, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Lyft told The Information that its engineers do have access to personal information but that they "hadn't received any internal complaint about the matter."

We asked Lyft to comment on the allegations, but the company had yet to get back to us by the time of publishing this story. A Lyft spokeswoman did tell The Information that "Maintaining the trust of passengers and drivers is fundamental to Lyft. The specific allegations in this post would be a violation of Lyft's policies and a cause for termination."

The issue first came to light on the app Blind, which allows employees and former employees to post about their employer in an anonymous forum.

Lyft employees had "seen people look their exes up" and "check to see if their significant other actually went where they said, and stalk attractive people they've met."

"I've heard at least one employee brag about having Zuck's [Mark Zuckerberg] phone number from using our data. Another employee has bragged about collecting the info of Hollywood actresses and porn stars," the poster said.

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"I'm sorry, this has bothered me way too long and it's gone unchanged for too long for me to not say anything," said the anonymous person. "The abuse I've seen needs to be curbed and access restricted."

In 2014, it was revealed that Uber had a "God View" tool that employees used to track riders locations in real time on a map. Some of those being tracked were celebrities, politicians and ex-girlfriends. The Information said that an ex-Lyft employee told them that customer data contains the latitude and longitude of pickups and drop-offs, but no maps. They also said that abuse of data is "probably possible."

A Lyft spokeswoman also told The Information:

"We require employees to be trained in our data privacy practices and responsible use policy, which categorically prohibit accessing and using customer data for reasons other than those required by their specific role at the company. Employees are required to sign confidentiality and responsible use agreements that bar them from accessing, using, or disclosing customer data outside the confines of their job responsibilities."

The former Lyft employee confirmed that Lyft keeps logs of which employees look up customer information.

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
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  • Annual Fee is $325.
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