Uber Wants to Use Your Facebook Data to Improve UberPool
The ride-sharing giant filed a patent that will use Facebook data to help UberPool passengers get friendlier with one another.
In hopes of improve the ride-sharing experience, Uber has filed a patent to pull Facebook data for UberPool rides, Business Insider reports. By showing common interests, friends UberPool passengers may have in common, and other information Facebook knows about you, Uber hopes to smooth out the at-times-awkward nature of sharing a car with a complete stranger.
According to the patent, it seems Uber will ask the UberPool user if it can access his or her social media data; then, after mining through it, the app will notify him/her if there any commonalities shared with the other passenger. The mockups in the patent also show that you can friend request your fellow UberPool passenger on Facebook through the Uber app, too, and even post a status update.
Uber has also filed a patent for another function, which would allow UberPool passengers to request rides with only those with whom they share interests or friends on Facebook.
The patent has yet to be granted, but it seems like a good idea in theory—if you're stuck in a car with someone else, this might help strike up a conversation to pass the time. So long as you're comfortable giving Uber even more info about you, that is.
