Didi Ride-Hailing App Gets Pulled from Chinese App Stores for Privacy Issues

Didi, Uber's largest competitor in the ride-hailing business in China, is no longer in app stores in the country.

The main reason was that the app was alleged to be collecting user data illegally, reports 9to5Mac. China's Cyberspace Administration announced the takedown of the Didi app recently, citing what they call are "serious violations" in terms of collecting sensitive user data.

It's worth noting that Didi is actually backed by Apple, who invested a cool $1 billion into the company in 2016. Eventually, Didi would go public with a massive $100 billion valuation back in April, when it filed privately for an IPO. As a result, Apple CEO Tim Cook has a seat on Didi's service board.

Didi, however, has already been under investigation for the same issue. According to a report by Bloomberg, the app itself was already under the watchful eye of the Chinese Cyberspace Administration merely two days before it was pulled from app stores. The authorities were conducting a security review of Didi, which means the decision was made extremely quickly.

Apple will now have to delete the Didi app from their app store in China as part of the directive. The Chinese government is also ordering carriers such as Huawei and Xiaomi to do the same.

Didi: What's Going To Happen Now?

The top brass from Didi has commented on the issue already, with them claiming that they've already removed the app from the stores and are doing the necessary "corrections," reports TechCrunch.

Should they manage to fix things, then Didi will need to rebound and return to an otherwise excellent start. Their debut on the New York Stock Exchange was considered one of the largest of its kind when they managed to raise $4 billion in late June. As for their user base, they were serving upwards of 490 million active users during a 12-month period that ended last March. That was a total of 41 million daily transactions, which is frankly amazing.

Apple and Privacy Issues: An On-Again, Off-Again Relationship

It seems like Apple can't seem to get rid of privacy concerns regarding their software ecosystem. This problem with Didi is just one of many in their storied history.

As recently as June, it has been reported that some Apple apps are still tracking user data despite refusing consent. According to the reports, even the enforcement of App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5 isn't working like it's supposed to. Even if a user opts out of data tracking for a specific app, they're actually still given the same level of data collection as in the past.

This could prove extremely problematic, especially since Apple has been going on and on about its newfound commitment to user privacy. They're even charging people for privacy upgrades via iCloud. This may change soon, or it could become very troublesome for the Silicon Valley Giant.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce