Uber Terms of Service & Privacy Policy
Uber
Very Bad
Based on a complete review of both the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Uber's terms are heavily skewed in the company's favor, particularly regarding dispute resolution and data usage. While transparent, the policies outline aggressive data collection, extensive sharing, and significant limitations on user legal rights.
Source: https://www.uber.com/legal/en/document/?name=general-terms-of-use
Account & Identity Data
Your name, address, contact info (email, phone), login details, profile photo, payment methods, and loyalty program info. For identity verification, they collect government IDs (driver's licenses, passports), user-submitted selfies, and facial verification information (biometric data) to confirm identity, age, or prevent fraud. They also collect or infer your gender for specific features and marketing.
Location Data
Your precise location from the moment you request a ride/order until it's finished, and when the Uber app is open. They also track your driver's location during a trip. You can use the app without precise location, but it will be less convenient.
Trip & Order Information
Details about your rides or orders, including payment info, proof of delivery (photos/signatures), special instructions, allergies, food preferences, date/time, pickup/dropoff addresses, distance, merchant names, items ordered, order value, and tax IDs. They also derive statistics like average order size and cancellation rates.
Usage & Device Data
How you interact with Uber's apps and websites (app crashes, access times, features viewed, search history, ad interactions). Information about your device(s) including advertising identifiers, browser type, device motion data, IP address, hardware models, mobile network data, operating systems, and preferred languages.
Communications & In-Vehicle Recordings
Data from your interactions with Uber customer support, drivers, and delivery people, including communication type (phone/text), content (audio recordings, call transcripts, chat logs), and date/time. If you use autonomous vehicle services, they collect video of you from in-cabin cameras and may collect audio recordings. These recordings are Uber's property.
User Generated Content
Ratings, feedback, reviews of restaurants/merchants, uploaded photos and audio/video recordings (including in-app audio recordings), and survey responses.
Data from Third Parties
Information from law enforcement, public health, and government authorities (investigations). Marketing partners, advertisers, and data resellers provide usage data, contact info, device data, and 'enrichment data' like demographics, interests, lifestyle, purchasing behavior, and streaming habits. Identity verification services provide carrier info and confirm account details. Uber account owners (friends, family, employers) share your name, contact, location, and trip/order info. Business partners (payment providers, social media, loyalty programs) share data when you link accounts. Other users may provide information in disputes (including dashcam footage and videos from fleet partners).
Provide & Improve Services
Use your data to create and update accounts, enable features (navigation, matching, ETA sharing, accessibility), calculate prices, process payments, personalize your experience (recommendations), provide updates/receipts, and troubleshoot issues. They also use algorithms for matching (considering location, availability, traffic, and past negative experiences) and dynamic pricing.
Safety, Security & Fraud Prevention
Verify your account, identity, and compliance with safety rules (including biometric facial verification). They prevent and detect fraud (e.g., account takeovers, suspicious behavior) by monitoring real-time and historical data. They also use data to predict and avoid pairings of users that may increase conflict risk and provide live support from safety experts.
Marketing & Advertising
Personalize marketing and ads for Uber's services and those of partners. This includes sending push notifications, in-app messages, and displaying targeted ads on Uber and other websites/apps based on your interests, preferences, characteristics, and current trip/delivery requests. They also measure ad effectiveness.
Enable Communications
Facilitate communication between you and drivers/delivery people (e.g., confirming pickups, retrieving lost items).
Customer Support
Investigate and address user concerns, including misconduct and fraud. They monitor and improve support responses and may use Generative AI tools for these purposes.
Research & Development
Analyze data, conduct research, and develop new products and features, including training machine learning models to enhance services, safety, and security.
Non-Marketing Communications
Send surveys and communications about elections, ballots, or other political processes related to their services.
Legal Proceedings & Requirements
Investigate claims or disputes, comply with laws, regulations, operating licenses, agreements, or insurance policies, and respond to legal processes or government requests (including from law enforcement).
Data Sharing with Other Users & Account Owners
Share your first name, rating, pickup/dropoff locations, and settings with your driver. Share your name, order info, delivery address, items, special instructions, user content, and feedback with restaurants/merchants/delivery people. If you use an account linked to a family profile or an employer's Uber for Business account, they may share your account data, trip/order info, and even safety-related incidents with the account owner.
Data Sharing with Third-Party Partners
Share data with a wide range of service providers and business partners, including ad/marketing partners (publishers, networks, data providers, ad tech, measurement), ad intermediaries (like Criteo, Google, Rokt, The Trade Desk, TripleLift), cloud storage, customer support, identity verification, payment processors, research partners, social media companies (Meta, TikTok), AI/ML tool providers, third-party app integrators (Lime, Tembici), vehicle suppliers, loyalty program partners, and autonomous vehicle partners.
Data Sharing for Legal Reasons/Disputes
Share your data with law enforcement, public health officials, government authorities, insurance companies, and third-party fleet partners as required by law, for safety concerns, or to enforce their terms. This includes sharing data in connection with mergers, sales, or acquisitions.
Mandatory Binding Arbitration & Class Action Waiver
HIGH RISK“By agreeing to these Terms, you agree that you are required to resolve any claim and/or lawsuit that you may have against Uber on an individual basis in binding arbitration as set forth in this Arbitration Agreement, and not as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass and/or representative action. ... You and Uber are each waiving your right to a jury trial.”
This means: You cannot sue Uber in court for most disputes. Instead, you must resolve issues through a private arbitration process, and you give up your right to a jury trial. You also cannot join other users in a class-action lawsuit or any group legal action against Uber.
Waiver of Legal Privileges for Litigation Funding
HIGH RISK“As a condition of agreeing to these Terms, you waive any attorney client privilege, work product privilege, common interest privilege, or similar protection, and to waive any claim of confidentiality, with respect to documents that you or your counsel share with a Litigation Funder and which you or your counsel receive from a Litigation Funder and/or the Litigation Funder’s counsel.”
This means: If you use a third-party to help fund your legal claims against Uber, you must disclose that arrangement and give up your right to keep communications and documents related to that funding private. This means Uber can see information that would normally be protected by attorney-client privilege.
Broad Limitation of Uber's Liability
HIGH RISK“UBER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED TO, IN CONNECTION WITH, OR OTHERWISE RESULTING FROM ANY USE OF THE SERVICES, REGARDLESS OF THE NEGLIGENCE (EITHER ACTIVE, AFFIRMATIVE, SOLE, OR CONCURRENT) OF UBER, EVEN IF UBER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.”
This means: Uber tries to avoid responsibility for many types of damages, including serious ones like personal injury or death, even if those damages are caused by Uber's own negligence. This significantly limits your ability to recover compensation from them.
Indemnification Obligation
HIGH RISK“You agree to indemnify and hold Uber and its affiliates and their officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from and against any and all actions, claims, demands, losses, liabilities, costs, damages, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees), arising out of or in connection with: (i) your use of the Services or services or goods obtained through your use of the Services; (ii) your breach or violation of any of these Terms; (iii) Uber's use of your User Content; or (iv) your violation of the rights of any third party, including Third-Party Providers.”
This means: You agree to protect Uber from any legal claims, damages, or expenses (including legal fees) that arise from your use of their services, if you break their rules, if Uber uses content you provide, or if you violate someone else's rights. This means you could be on the hook for Uber's legal costs.
Uber's Right to Terminate Your Account
MEDIUM RISK“Uber, in its sole discretion, may immediately terminate these Terms or any Services with respect to you, or generally cease offering or deny access to the Services or any portion thereof, at any time for any reason.”
This means: Uber can close your account or stop offering services to you at any time, for any reason, without needing your permission.
Delete your account
You can request to delete your account through the Privacy menus in the Uber app or via their website. Guest users can also submit a privacy inquiry to request deletion.
Data retention
After you request deletion, Uber generally deletes your account and data within 90 days. However, they will retain data for longer if necessary for safety, security, fraud prevention, compliance with legal requirements, or if there are unresolved issues related to your account (e.g., outstanding credit, unresolved claims/disputes, or if you were banned for serious misconduct). For example, some data categories (like communications, device, location, trip/order, usage) may be retained for up to 7 years, or for the 'life of your account' (LOA) for account info.
Data portability
You can access your profile data and trip/order history directly in the app/website. Uber also provides an 'Explore Your Data' feature for a summary and a 'Download Your Data' feature to get a copy of 'most requested data' (account, usage, communications, device data).
Mandatory Arbitration with Class Action and Mass Action Waivers (Section 2 of TOS)
This clause forces you into private arbitration for almost all disputes with Uber, stripping away your right to sue in court or participate in class-action lawsuits. This significantly limits your legal recourse and makes it much harder to hold Uber accountable, especially for widespread issues affecting many users.
Industry context: This is a common but aggressive tactic in the tech industry, often considered anti-consumer. Uber's specific 'Mass Action Waiver' with detailed procedures and opt-out conditions is particularly complex and designed to deter group claims.
Waiver of Legal Privileges for Litigation Funding (Section 6 of TOS)
Uber demands that if you receive financial support for a legal claim, you must disclose the funding agreement and waive attorney-client privilege or other confidentiality protections related to it. This is an extraordinary demand that could expose your legal strategy and communications, making it much harder to pursue a claim effectively, especially against a large corporation.
Industry context: This clause is highly unusual and goes far beyond standard industry practice. It appears to be a direct attempt to undermine third-party litigation funding, which can be crucial for individuals to challenge powerful companies.
Broad Disclaimer of Liability, even for Uber's Negligence (Section 8 of TOS)
Uber attempts to absolve itself of liability for a wide range of damages, including personal injury or death, even if those damages are a direct result of Uber's own negligence. This means if something goes wrong due to Uber's fault, you might have severely limited options for compensation.
Industry context: While broad disclaimers are common, explicitly disclaiming liability for one's own negligence is a very company-favorable stance that can be challenged in some jurisdictions but is a significant hurdle for users.
Extensive Data Collection and Sharing with Third Parties (Sections II.A.3 & II.E.3 of PP)
Uber collects a vast amount of data, including precise location, biometric facial data, in-vehicle recordings, and communications content. They then share this data with a large network of third-party ad/marketing partners, data resellers (who provide 'enrichment data' like your interests and purchasing habits), and even AI/ML tool providers. This means your personal information is widely distributed and used for purposes beyond just providing rides or deliveries.
Industry context: The scope of data collection and the sheer number of third-party sharing partners, especially data resellers and AI/ML providers, is extensive, even for a large tech company. The collection of biometric and in-vehicle recording data is particularly high-risk.
Data Retention After Account Deletion (Section II.F of PP)
Even after you request to delete your account, Uber reserves the right to retain significant portions of your data for up to 7 years, or indefinitely if there are 'unresolved issues' like fraud or a dispute. This means your data isn't truly gone when you delete your account, and Uber can continue to hold onto it for a long time, potentially for reasons that are not immediately clear to you.
Industry context: While some retention for legal/fraud reasons is standard, Uber's broad exceptions and long retention periods (up to 7 years for many data types) are more aggressive than average and limit your control over your data post-account deletion.
Uber's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are designed to protect the company's interests, often at the expense of user rights. Be aware that you are giving up your right to sue in court or join class actions, and Uber can collect extensive data (including biometrics and in-vehicle recordings) and share it widely with third parties. Your data may also be retained for a long time even after you delete your account. Always consult a qualified attorney for legal advice regarding these terms.
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