According to Engadget, Uber is launching a new platform called Uber Intelligence, powered by LiveRamp, that will let marketers target ads based on users’ anonymized trip and takeout data. The company’s global head of measurement, Edwin Wong, stated the ad business is already on track to generate $1.5 billion in revenue in 2025. Uber gave the example of a hotel brand using ride data to identify which local restaurants to partner with. The platform could also be used to identify “heavy business travelers” and target them with ads in the app or during rides. This news follows Uber reporting total company revenue of $44 billion in 2024, up from $37 billion in 2023. The company has also raised consumer fares by about 18% annually since 2018, outpacing inflation in many markets.
The Privacy Paradox
So, Uber isn’t “selling” our data in a raw, direct way. They’re “securely combining” it via a third-party platform to “surface insights.” That’s the official line, and technically, it uses anonymization. But here’s the thing: when you anonymize data and then combine it with other massive datasets, the anonymity often gets pretty thin. If an advertiser knows you frequently get dropped off at the airport on Tuesday mornings and order sushi on Thursday nights, they’re building a scarily accurate profile of you, even if your name isn’t attached. The “seamlessness” Wong is excited about feels a lot like being silently profiled from the backseat of a Prius. Fun times, indeed.
Uber’s Real Cash Cow
Look, the real story here isn’t the creepy ads. It’s the money. An ad business on track for $1.5 billion this year is a massive, high-margin revenue stream that basically prints money from data Uber was already collecting. Combine that with consistent fare hikes, and you see the playbook: squeeze more from riders on the front end, and then monetize their behavior on the back end. It’s a brutal one-two punch for the wallet. I think this Intelligence platform is just the next logical, aggressive step in that monetization. Why stop at showing you a banner ad for a burger joint when you can sell the insight that people going to the stadium first like to eat pizza?
Where Does This End?
This move pushes Uber further into the territory of data giants like Google and Meta. They’re not just a logistics company anymore; they’re a behavioral insights company that moves people and food. The implications are kinda wild. Will insurance companies one day want data on *how* you ride? Will your frequent late-night taco runs affect your health insurance premiums if that data ever gets leaked or repurposed? The relationship between Uber and its users has always been a bit tense, with drivers and riders often feeling squeezed. Now, the feeling of being a product, not just a passenger, is going to be supercharged. And honestly, what choice do we have? For many, Uber is a utility. So we’ll probably just sigh, accept the new “personalized” ad in the app, and hail the ride. But it’s worth asking: when every move you make becomes a data point for sale, what’s left that’s truly private?
