Only a day after Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith filed a story about an Uber's executive's comments that Uber should be open to the mafioso-style idea of hiring opposition to dig up dirt on reporters and media outlets that unfavorably cover Uber, the ride sharing start-up has once again found themselves in the center of some more terrible press.
It was revealed that Uber employees at the corporate level—not Uber drivers—can track anyone anywhere at anytime using something called 'god view', which doesn't sound terrifying at all. God mode, usually only reserved for unlocking infinite ammo in GTA, seems to be the inspiration for the function only accessible only to Uber brass. A Buzzfeed news reporter, Johana Bhuiyan, claims that she was illegally tracked after she traveled to a meeting with the General Manager of Uber New York, Josh Mohrer. Mohrer was allegedly waiting for Bhuyain at the company's Long Island City headquarters where he told the reporter, "I was tracking you" and pointed to his phone. This led to Mohrer being investigated for violating Uber's privacy policy, and heaping more unwanted public scrutiny on a company that has had nothing bad press for the last several months.
The best part of all? Uber claims that the tracking function is only used for the intentionally vague sounding "legitimate business purposes" which is somehow less reassuring than if they just came out and said, 'we watch you while you sleep.'
