• barfplanet@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    41
    ·
    1 day ago

    If Lyft and Uber are doing this then I genuinely applaud them. That’s astounding ingenuity in screwing over their customers. True innovators.

    • BigDiction@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      1 day ago

      The people making the big bucks in Silicon Valley are often the people really good at understanding psychology and manipulating people’s behavior.

      I honestly would have never thought of this either. I’m one of those traditional losers who thinks providing a good value/service at a sustainable margin is a good way to run a business.

    • Glitterbomb@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      1 day ago

      Uninstalled uber last week when it told me to take a photo of my ID to ride. Next week I’ll hear about some Brazilian hacker that has 100 million US IDs from an uber leak. No thanks. Lyft will probably do the same thing soon, and I’ll unceremoniously dump their ass too.

  • kimara@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    44
    ·
    2 days ago

    The article doesn’t say they do this. It says: “In theory, a service could charge you more if you’re on a vacation in a foreign country, instead of your hometown, because they know you would be willing to pay more. It would be the same if your phone’s battery is low and you’re trying to get home.”

    A really bad headline, but not surprising I guess.

    • Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      38
      arrow-down
      11
      ·
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      Because they pay apple? I’d imagine that’s obvious. It’s more useful metrics for the developer. I would be surprised if they didn’t tier the information access about users behind closed doors.

      Android’s not perfect, but at least permissions can be set per app, you can root your device, or install GrapheneOS or Lineage to bypass this crap entirely.

      • bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        25
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        I’d rather the ability to fudge these stats to developers, cause my info is none of their damn business, especially when I’m paying for a service.

        • Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          24
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          That can be done on android and other operating systems. Apple is always the SOL option when it comes to dodging this crap.

      • phx@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 day ago

        some permissions can be set per app. I’m not sure battery level is one of those and I have apps (i.e. homeassistant) which can read thatwithout me actually having explicitly allowed it. Usually it’s stuff one pictures/files, location, camera or health data that are restricted

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      In a way I think that expectation should be normal. What really shouldn’t be normal is for everything to be an app, and not a website.

      Windows Phone almost got this right - trying to focus more on HTML5 Manifest features and better browser/pinning integration, so that a company like Lyft can offer its full feature set through a website that works on all phones. Then, we could rely on the fact that we only need install a few apps that we trust.

    • Coldcell@sh.itjust.works
      cake
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      29
      ·
      2 days ago

      No, next they’re going to reveal they’ve been mining your calendar data this whole time after a data breach forces them to admit it.

    • JustARegularNerd@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      2 days ago

      I mean, they absolutely could and it would be absolutely trivial to compare a database of crime rates to your departure location. The question should really be “Are they checking if I’m in a shady neighborhood?”

      • dumples@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 day ago

        Don’t even need to compare. Just putting something like zip-9 / location into a machine learning model and it will do it for you. Just using advanced models to reinforce redlining

  • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    2 days ago

    Look, does it really matter whether they do or not? If a company is morally bankrupt enough to conduct business like this in the first place, it’s a certainty they’ll just find some other novel way to be flaming assholes.

    If you don’t want to get cheated, stop doing business with thieves and liars.

    • MurrayL@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      1 day ago

      Personally, I’d rather have a robust and up-to-date set of consumer protections rather than leaving everything up to ‘buyer beware’.

      • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 day ago

        That would be ideal of course, but this is the US we’re talking about, so it seems unlikely that you’ll have them.

        • Zombie@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 day ago

          They should just lie down and give up then I guess?

          Just transfer every cent they own into the hands of the Trumps/Musks/Cooks/Zuckerbergs/Bezos/Pichais of the world and get it over with, why bother trying?

          • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 day ago

            I’m suggesting they should refuse to use the services of companies that act like this.

    • FishFace@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      Did they ban AI from using proper titling case?

      The answer is no, and this may be one way in which AI should be allowed to displace humans Who Write Titles By Capitalising Every Word Even The Ones Which Should Not Be.

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 day ago

        I learned how to title in elementary school, because, ya know, it’s pretty damned elementary.