Are ride-hailing apps secretly tracking you? Let’s uncover the truth behind this common concern.
09 Oct 2025
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3 min. read
Have you ever felt like your phone knows a little too much about your whereabouts? It’s a common concern, especially when you receive notifications seemingly based on your location.
Take, for example, the message you might see when landing at an airport, directing you to the Uber pick-up point. How does Uber know where you are, especially if you’ve restricted its access to your location?
Curiosity led me to check Uber’s permissions, and to my surprise, they were set to only track my location while using the app. So why was I still receiving these notifications upon landing?
It turns out, the answer lies in a clever iOS feature called “UNLocationNotificationTrigger”. This feature allows apps to send notifications based on specific geographic regions, such as airports, without actively tracking your every move.
So, rest assured, Uber isn’t secretly monitoring your every move. The notifications are simply triggered when you enter a predefined area, offering guidance only when you choose to open the app.
While geofencing has its practical uses, such as in family safety apps or smart-home systems, its implementation for advertising purposes can feel intrusive. Imagine being bombarded with notifications from every store as you walk down the street!
Perhaps it’s time for Apple to refine the rules around location-triggered notifications, ensuring they serve the user’s needs rather than commercial interests.
