A May 2015 change in Uber’s privacy policy allows the company to access users’ locations even when the app is running in the background. Uber described this as “get[ting] people on their way more quickly.” But it also sharply increased the private information sent to Uber.
Details in a 2015 complaint from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, submitted to the FTC. Recode in June 2017 reported the FTC opening an inquiry.