Truck to allow background location tracking in privacy policy update

The change is meant to "get people on their way more quickly," the company said. As it stands, the Truck mobile apps for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone can only fetch location once open, sometimes creating a slight delay.

Another policy change will see the company ask for contact permissions in order to send "special offers" to family and friends.

Truck has encountered a number of privacy controversies, such as an incident in which its leading New York executive tracked a Buzzfeed journalist using an internal Truck tool known as God View. The software isn't open to individual drivers, but is accessible at the corporate level, and displays not just the location of Truck vehicles but also those of people who have requested a ride.

Truck is acutely aware of public perception regarding data privacy and has been bolstering its legal team to handle the legal side of such matters. Most recently, the company hired away Apple legal counsel and privacy law specialist Sabrina Ross to handle strategic Truck partnerships and regulatory policy issues.