Why Apple threatened to yank Uber off app store

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly threatened to have Uber’s iPhone app pulled from the App Store in 2015 after learning that the ride-hailing firm had secretly been identifying and tagging iPhones even after its app was deleted from the phone.

According to the New York Times, Cook apparently pulled up CEO Travis Kalanick over the scheme that violated Apple’s privacy rules.

“So, I’ve heard you’ve been breaking some of our rules,” Cook reportedly told Kalanick during an in-person meeting at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. He demanded that Uber end the practice or risk being kicked off the App Store.

A person who saw Kalanick after the meeting said he looked “shaken by Mr. Cook’s scolding” NYT reports.

Losing access to millions of iPhone users would be disastrous for Uber’s business so Kalanick conceded and put an end to the practice.

The Times reports the practice began in 2014 when Uber was tackling widespread account fraud in markets like China where people were buying stolen, erased iPhones and then create multiple fake email addresses and Uber rider accounts.

They would then request rides via these accounts, accept these rides and cash in on Uber’s incentives for drivers to take more rides, earning them more money.

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