Women-only Ridesharing Service Gets Suspended Across the GTA
Published April 5, 2018 at 8:37 pm
After just about three weeks on the market, the GTA’s only all-female ridesharing app is facing a serious issue and has been suspended until further notice.
DriverHER officially launched at noon on Friday March 16, 2018. The new app is driven by safety, empowerment, community, and “honest” pricing, read the company’s website. DriveHER is made up of women-only drivers and women-only passengers.
All seemed well until very recently, when DriveHER sent an email to its customers about a very concerning data breach.
“We value your business and respect the privacy of your information, which is why, as a precautionary measure, we are writing to let you know about a data security incident that may involve your information on March 30th-April 3rd, 2018,” reads the email.
“The data accessed may have included personal information such as Name, Gender, Telephone Number, Profile Image. To our knowledge, the data accessed did not include any credit card information.”
“As a result; services will be unavailable until further notice.”
Videos
For a company that has promised safety, this isn’t looking so great.
Currently, DriveHER’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website have been updated to reflect the suspension of the ridesharing service.
“We are fixing things up. We’ll be right back!” says the message. According to DriveHER, the company is undergoing a maintenance check.
Here’s a look at the full email that was sent to users:
Thank you for choosing DriveHER and for being patient with us during our first weeks of operation.
We value your business and respect the privacy of your information, which is why, as a precautionary measure, we are writing to let you know about a data security incident that may involve your information on March 30th -April 3rd, 2018.
The data accessed may have included personal information such as
Name, Gender, Telephone Number, Profile Image.
To our knowledge, the data accessed did not include any credit card information.DriveHER values your privacy and deeply regrets that this incident occurred. DriveHER is conducting a thorough review of the potentially affected and will notify you if there are any significant developments.
As a result; services will be unavailable until further notice.
DriveHER has implemented additional security measures designed to prevent a recurrence of such a vulnerability and to protect the privacy of DriveHER’svalued customers and drivers.
We will continue to put our best foot forward to keep you protected and secure at all times.
We remain committed to getting you there safely.For further information and assistance, please contact us at [email protected] between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm or visit https://driveher.ca
Please also review the attachment to this letter (Steps You Can Take to Further Protect Your Information) for further information on steps you can take to protect your information.
Warm Regards;
C.E.O
Aisha Addo
It’s true that most taxi or other ridesharing drivers in this market (i.e. Uber drivers) are male.
Another unique feature of DriveHER is that the company planned to connect with shelters to provide free rides to women and their children fleeing domestic abuse.
What would happen if a female passenger had a male passenger with her?
“If the passenger’s male companion is travelling in the same direction but to a different destination, it is up to you (the driver) to decide to take them or refer them to another service (e.g. Uber/taxi),” read the company’s website.
“However, you can only take these passengers if the male passenger is getting out before the end of the ride. For safety, the female passenger must be the last to exit the car.”
A data breach is indeed a big deal, but similar ridesharing service Uber has seen its fair share of trouble, too, and it’s still up and running. The company does have plans to expand across Canada eventually.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising