Uber’s ‘fingerprinting’ of iPhones after users delete app has sparked an FTC complaint - The Washington Post

I can't remember the last time I saw a positive Uber headline... Also see What will it take for Uber to change? (Recode)

"A New York Times report this week revealed that Uber’s app could give iPhones a unique “fingerprint” so that the company could identify devices even if its app was deleted or the phone was erased entirely. The company intended to stymie account fraud in places like China, where some drivers would create multiple accounts to request and accept fake rides, according to the report.

But the practice of tagging iPhones violates Apple’s rules for app makers, and Uber attempted to prevent engineers there from detecting the code by putting Apple’s Cupertino headquarters inside a “geo-fence,” meaning its software would appear differently when viewed in that location. When Apple discovered the deception, Apple chief executive Tim Cook personally told Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to knock it off or Uber’s app would be pulled from its store, the Times reported.

“The fact that they apparently geo-fenced the Apple headquarters so the engineers there couldn’t figure out what was happening exacerbates the situation and implies they knew what they were doing and they were being deceptive about it,” Simpson said."

Uber’s ‘fingerprinting’ of iPhones after users delete app has sparked an FTC complaint - The Washington Post