how do they get access to your contacts? why do they get access to your contacts...

gruez · on March 29, 2018

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubercab

    This app has access to:
    [...]
    Contacts
      * find accounts on the device
      * read your contacts

dwighttk · on March 29, 2018

But why?

rory · on March 29, 2018

I'm pretty sure it's used to assist with selecting other accounts for fare splits, so that could be one justification.

dwighttk · on March 30, 2018

ah... didn't think of that one... Clearly not an Uber user here. At least there's a possibly helpful reason to do it.

moduspol · on March 29, 2018

I'm on iOS and signed up for Uber long before the privacy scandals went mainstream. iOS would have required that I be prompted for access to contacts, but I don't remember what the justification was.

I do know it knows where "Home" and "Work" are without me explicitly telling it. I assumed I'd be able to type in the name of a contact and it'd resolve that to the contact's address I have listed (an actual valid use case), but I just tried that and it didn't work. So I don't know OTOH what valid justification they have for using it.

I do see if you go to invite friends (for "free rides"), it allows you to connect contacts to send codes to. I don't think that's how I got prompted, though.