Browsing Category:
Business, Entrepreneurs, Privacy
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Uber Says It’ll Stop Tracking Riders After They’re Dropped Off
by Tammy on August 29, 2017Their penchant for wanting to track people was weird. Why it took so long to stop this nonsense is beyond me. Via LA Times. Uber will end a controversial policy of tracking some riders for five minutes after their trip ends, the ride-hailing company said Tuesday as it tries to repair its privacy reputation. Uber was criticized by users and privacy advocates when it announced last year that it would collect location data from riders through its app from the time the trip was requested through five minutes after it ended. Uber said it was doing so “to improve pickups, drop-offs, customer service, and to enhance safety.” Users who didn’t want to be tracked after their ride ended could opt...
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Start-Ups Try To Solve How to Send Packages to Shoppers With No Addresses
by Shifra on July 17, 2016Mongolian yurt If your address is “200 meters south of the Pizza Hut,” this one’s for you: Via WSJ. A handful of startups are trying to solve one of the more vexing problems in e-commerce: how to deliver a package to a home or office that doesn’t have an address. That is a constant challenge for online retailers and delivery companies in many of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets, including India, and parts of the Middle East and Africa. Rather than having a conventional street address, an office in one these regions might give its location as “200 meters south of the Pizza Hut.” A home might have no identifier beyond a street name, or even just a part of town....
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Chariot for Women, an Uber-Like Service, Set to Launch This Month
by Tammy on April 10, 2016Hmm, I like this idea. I hope the market supports it. Via Ars Technica. A new Boston-area startup hopes to be a new on-demand ride service that will only offer rides to women, trans women, and children of any gender under 13. Chariot for Women, which was founded by a husband-and-wife team from Charlton, Massachusetts, is set to launch nationwide on April 19. Its pricing will be much more similar to traditional taxi fares, with a base charge and a per mile rate—and with no surge pricing. The company says that it is focusing on safety and will only employ female drivers, who will have background checks run by Safer Places. All prospective drivers must also pass Massachusetts’ Criminal Offender...