Concerns about passenger privacy have been raised online as it was discovered that some ride-hailing drivers are posting pictures and personal details of their passengers.
A Reddit user on Tuesday, October 8, posted screengrabs of some social media posts from drivers of inDrive, revealing that they had been sharing pictures of passengers along with details such as trip routes and payment information.
“Be careful of ride-hailing drivers who violate privacy,” the Reddit user wrote on the r/Philippines subreddit.
The Redditor said they were looking for customer reviews about inDrive to determine if the transport network vehicle service (TNVS) is reliable when they saw those social media posts.
“Ended up in their driver groups and saw that they post too many passenger details (addresses and profile names and photos) and photos of sleeping female passengers,” the user wrote.
“Reminder lang how vulnerable we can be when we use these services,” the Redditor said.
be careful of ride hailing drivers who violate privacy
byu/AbbreviationsNo5154 inPhilippines
The post has earned over 300 upvotes and 67 replies in the discussion thread so far, with some Redditors thinking the drivers’ moves were “creepy.”
“It’s also concerning that these creeps have an echo chamber,” an online user commented, referring to the Facebook groups where the app drivers post such pictures and information.
“Instant kick dapat ng mismong company mga ganyan,” another Redditor said.
Others gave suggestions to TNVS users and service providers in response to the concern.
“The company should have a hard orientation about data protection and privacy. Jusme, katakot ‘to. And also routinely send texts or messages to all their riders,” a Reddit user said.
“Screenshot niyo lang, sana may ma-timing na may pera, makasuhan ‘tong mga ‘to under Data Privacy Laws. This society is filled with people who have never been punched or sued enough,” another Redditor commented.
“Creepy, report ‘yan agad, pino-post pa sa group. Ang hirap talaga ‘pag ‘yung driver eh manyak at squammy,” wrote a different user.
This was not the first time such concerns have been raised.
Last year, similar issues regarding another ride-hailing app were discussed on the subreddit.
The app reportedly said that it was “thoroughly investigating” the matter and that it “strictly upholds data privacy on the platform.”
Meanwhile, the Data Privacy Act states that individuals have the right to file a complaint if they feel that their personal data has been misused, maliciously disclosed, or improperly disposed of.
The law defines personal data as “all types of personal information.”
Personal information, meanwhile, is defined as “any information, whether recorded in a material form or not, from which the identity of an individual is apparent or can be reasonably and directly ascertained by the entity holding the information, or when put together with other information would directly and certainly identify an individual.”
