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Uber followed iPhone's users, and Tim Cook personally threatened to remove the app from the app Store

The journalists of The New York Times told of interesting incident that occurred in the beginning of 2015. It turns out that the head of Apple "Tim Cook" personally threatened the head of Uber Travis Kalanick that Uber app will be removed from the App Store if Uber does not stop breaking apple store rules.

The publication said that the idea to fool Apple and bypass rules, laid out by the company, started at 2014. The need arose when the service suffered from numerous cases of fraud. In China and some other countries the drivers began to purchase stolen or just cheap iPhone on the secondary market and after they started to create dozens of fake accounts. After that the cheaters ordered from these devices drivers and carried out fictitious orders.

The problem is that there is a rule by Apple forbidding tracking of devices and to identifying them after the user removes all the data or removes a specific application. However, the developers of Uber took the risk and the company with his application began to put into iPhone users "tag". Even after full reset of the device "tags" were allowed to identify specific iPhone and to find cheaters.

This method has violated Apple's rules and Travis Kalanick offered an original solution to the problem. He suggested developers to use geo-zoning and obfuscate the application code when it works in the headquarters of Apple in Cupertino or somewhere nearby. In fact, Uber shouldn't have shown the Apple employees that he "marks" users devices, demonstrating good behavior in their presence.

Soon Apple engineers located outside of Cupertino noticed something suspicious and figured out what makes the Uber app do this. According to The New York Times Tim Cook invited Travis Kalanick to meet in person in Apple office. When the meeting took place, Cook scolded the head of Uber and warned that the application will be removed from the App Store if Uber does not stop "tagging" users phones even after the app is uninstalled.

Representatives of Uber has responded to the publication of The New York Times and denied the charges. Representative of Uber said to magazine that company never tried to track specific user after deleting the application.

Earlier the company Uber has repeatedly been accused of using highly controversial methods. For example, in March 2017 it became known that Uber uses a tool called Greyball. This special tool allows to detect the activity of law enforcement agencies in the countries where the activities of Uber strictly regulated or even prohibited by local law. The tool allows companies to locate and avoid the representatives of the authorities who are trying to order taxi with only one purpose — to arrest the driver.

After that representatives of Uber were forced to apologize.
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