Apple's Tim Cook once scolded Uber's Travis Kalanick over an important iPhone privacy issue. The encounter was revealed through a fascinating profile of the controversial Uber CEO. It was revealed that Kalanick in late 2014 instructed his software engineers to secretly "identify and tag" iPhones, even if the ride-hailing app had already been deleted.
There would have been no problem, except Apple has been widely known to uphold its consumers' privacy above all else. The company was even placed in a very public heated argument over terrorists' right to privacy when they controversially defied orders from the FBI to expose iPhone user's private information. So, naturally, when Apple got wind of what Mr. Kalanick wanted to do with Uber apps on iPhone, the company immediately called for a private meeting.
According to BGR, Apple found out that Uber had been directing its employees to camouflage the ride-hailing app from Apple’s engineers. The aim would have been to hide from Apple the fact that Uber was secretly tracking iPhones even after its app had been deleted from the devices. This serious violation of Apple’s privacy guidelines prompted Mr. Cook to calmly threaten Mr. Kalanick.
According to Mashable, Mr. Cook started the conversation by saying he's heard that Uber has "been breaking some of the rules". He continued to tell Mr. Kalanick to "stop the trickery", or Uber’s app would be kicked out of Apple’s App Store. Mr. Kalanick reportedly came out from the meeting shaken.
Obviously, Uber’s Kalanick can't afford to lose the iPhone market so he promised to cut it out. However, it wasn't the last time the ride-sharing company was caught in a scandal. While Kalanick has made headlines as a bad boy CEO, the 40-year-old also has some pretty impressive accomplishments such as once holding "the world’s second-highest score for the Nintendo Wii Tennis video game."
