Google removes app that calculated if Uber drivers were underpaid
Uber claimed a trademark infringement for the "UberCheats" app, according to its creator. Uber wins for now.
A helpful tool that gave Uber drivers a little peace of mind that their pay was calculated fair and square is no longer available on the Google Play store. The creator of the UberCheats app, which told drivers if Uber underpaid them for a ride, said Thursday the app has been removed from the Google Play store.
It comes after the ride-sharing service claimed a trademark infringement. "Uber filed a false trademark claim against UberCheats, so it's been taken off the Chrome app store," creator Armin Samii said in a tweet. Uber's claim, according to Samii, also asserts that customers may confuse it with "an actual Uber product."
Uber did not immediately return Roadshow's request for comment on the app's removal.
Samii's app simply looked at the actual miles calculated during a ride. He told Vice in a Thursday story he assumes the company uses a "straight line distance," instead of the actual distance traveled. That can leave drivers shorted on payments for their rides at times, and Uber admitted to underpaying drivers in New York City back in 2017. The company refunded the affected drivers to remedy the situation. Samii himself was an UberEats driver and said he got the idea after he ran into the exact issue UberCheats addressed during a delivery. He told Vice he wasn't upset over the few bucks he missed out on, but instead, realized it was happening to thousands of drivers and delivery people across the US.
He further explained to the publication that he doesn't plan on relaunching the app with a new name to skirt what he called the "false trademark claim." Instead, he plans to fight to use the UberCheats name.
