Remember when the creepiest thing about ride-sharing was being forced to listen to your driver's five-point plan for fixing America? Those were simpler times, folks.
As reported by CBC, a Toronto woman named Anvi Ahuja got a creepy text message containing a transcript of the private conversation she'd just had with her roommates during their 8-minute Lyft ride.
Lyft's response has been a masterclass in corporate confusion. When Ahuja called Lyft that night to complain, they said "Oh, this is just our cool new pilot program!" A week later, they switched to "Bad driver! Very bad driver! We've punished them appropriately!" Then when the media started sniffing around, Lyft's final answer became "Well actually, it's definitely not our U.S. audio recording pilot program, but uh… look over there!"
The company's now hiding behind some word salad about "masked numbers" and "third-party providers," which is corporate speak for "please stop asking us questions."
Former Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian called the incident "completely unacceptable," which is Canadian for "what the actual f**k."
Meanwhile, Lyft's terms of service specifically prohibit recording passengers without consent — a rule that apparently matters as much as the "Do Not Remove" tag on your mattress.
Next up, a "surveillance surcharge" line item on your Lyft receipts.
Previously:
• Uber driver shares essential tips and tricks
