GrabTaxi, Yandex Go, and Uber are the most data-hungry ride-hailing apps
January 2022 by Surfshark
Approaching data privacy day on January 28th, cybersecurity company Surfshark conducted a study that revealed which of the popular ride-hailing and taxi apps collect the most extensive information about their users
According to Surfshark’s data sensitivity index, which shows what type of data ride-hailing apps collect:
• GrabTaxi, Yandex Go, and Uber are the most data-hungry carpooling apps in the world.
• GrabTaxi collects almost ten times more data than the least data-hungry app Rapido – 27 out of 32 possible data points listed by Apple. However, Rapido delivers the same service using only its user’s name, phone number, and location.
• Ride-hailing apps, on average, collect 14 data points per user and 30% of them use this data for "Third-Party advertising".
• Most researched apps usually share the device and user ID, product interaction information, and precise location with third parties.
• Most data-hungry apps can additionally use contact and payment information, user’s content, and other user data for third-party marketing purposes.
Commentary from Surfshark’s CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis: "Many people today are willing to trade privacy for comfort and share their personal information in exchange for a service. By doing so, people leave digital footprints everywhere they go, including their personal details, physical addresses, and even the links they click on. Moreover, some apps share users’ personal information with “third parties’’ for “marketing purposes”. For instance, our study shows that 9 out of 30 analyzed ride-hailing apps use collected data for "Third-Party advertising."