How Uber appears to know the place you’re – even with restricted location permissions

Is the ride-hailing app secretly monitoring you? Not likely, however this iOS function could make it really feel that approach.

09 Oct 2025
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3 min. learn

Whenever you land at an airport, you might be greeted with a notification in your telephone that reads:

For privacy-conscious customers who solely permit apps to entry their location whereas the app is in use, this could really feel unsettling. How may Uber know the place you’re when you restricted the app to entry your location solely whereas in use?

After seeing the message a number of instances, I lastly checked Uber’s permissions, sure it was set to solely “whereas utilizing the app” on each my private and enterprise telephone. And certainly, Uber’s location entry was set precisely as meant: “whereas utilizing the app”.

And but, each units displayed the identical notification at any time when I landed, and getting this permission incorrect on two units appeared extremely unlikely. (As an apart, why there are different choices past this one is baffling. Why do any automotive service or meals apps must know your location if you end up not actively utilizing them – aside from to trace you for industrial causes?)

The one different purpose for what some would possibly view as a privateness infringement might be a function referred to as “Background App Refresh”, which permits an app to run and replace its content material even once you’re not utilizing it. Then again, this might be in opposition to the precept of limiting location entry to solely whereas the app is in use, and it appears implausible that any app, particularly on iOS, can be allowed to bypass such a elementary privateness management.

So, how does Uber (and maybe different apps) know the place you’ve simply landed?

The reply lies in a function referred to as “UNLocationNotificationTrigger” that Apple offers to builders. This function permits an app to fireside a pre-configured notification when the system enters or exits a specified geographic area, equivalent to an airport. That approach, it successfully circumvents the intent behind the “whereas utilizing the app” setting.

So, to reply the query above immediately: no, Uber or different apps don’t know your location once you land. The notification is generated regionally in your telephone when it detects that you just’ve entered the pre-defined airport’s geofenced space.

Then again, the notification’s wording is deceptive: it makes it really feel like Uber is actively monitoring you and is providing steerage. In actuality, it’s solely once you faucet the notification and open the app that your system shares your location with the app.

There are official causes for geofencing, in fact. For instance, a household security app could notify mother and father when their baby’s system enters or exits a chosen protected zone equivalent to a college or residence. Or to make use of one other instance, a smart-home app may remind you to change off the lights once you depart the home.

Nevertheless, utilizing the identical mechanism for what can solely be seen as promoting is, in my view, an overreach. On this occasion, Uber is promoting its providers as quickly as I’m inside the boundaries of the airport. Think about strolling by means of a excessive avenue and having each retailer’s app ping you to come back inside, principally ignoring your determination to share your location solely once you’re utilizing their app.

It will appear smart for Apple to tighten the principles round location-triggered notifications and prohibit them to non-advertising functions. This may be sure that the notifications are restricted to performance that serves the person and isn’t used for monetization functions.