Uber has filed a patent that might make its UberPool carsharing service slightly less creepy, by showing passengers friends or interests they have in common. Judging by the filing, Uber will ask you to connect your Facebook profile with its app when you request an UberPool. It will do the same for anyone you're about to share a ride with and if you have friends in common, Uber will let you know. Uber doesn't just want to look for mutual Facebook friends or friends of friends. It might also look for: According to the filing, the idea is to make sharing an UberPool with complete strangers less awkward. But it's possible knowing this much information about a stranger might make the service seem more, rather than less, creepy. Uber's also proposing a kind of exclusive UberPool where riders can proactively request to share a car only with people who have common links. The company also seems to want the increased social integration to run both ways. The filing outlines an "Uber there" feature that could be embedded into an event invitation. For example, you could be looking at a Facebook invite to a friend's birthday at a bar, hit the embedded "Uber there" button, and share a ride there with friends of friends who may live nearby, all without leaving Facebook. It's worth noting Uber has filed but not been granted the patent, meaning the data mining feature may never see the light of day. If it does, all of this might make UberPool more palatable to anyone worried about sharing a car with strangers. At the end of last year, Uber had to issue rules for carsharing passengers, warning them not to flirt with or vomit on fellow riders. Here's the patent in full.
Uber has filed a patent detailing a passenger analytics tool for its UberPool service . The ride - sharing firm will ask UberPool users to share their Facebook profiles with the app and share riders ’ profiles with one another . The filing states that the company is trying to find a way to alleviate the awkwardness that can come with sharing a ride with a customer . Uber is also proposing an exclusive website where riders can request to share a lift with people they have links to .