Regions

Taxi service provider Uber Technologies Inc said only some of its employees have access to "God View", or a real-time aerial view of the movement of its cars.

The tool is available only to "employees working in operations or other areas, like fraud prevention," the company said in a letter to Minnesota Senator Al Franken. (1.usa.gov/13uxNHU)

The tool was also shown to some third parties in a "presentation" view, Uber said.

Franken, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, said he was concerned about Uber's "surprising lack of detail". (1.usa.gov/1xmOUb7)

"I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes the ability to control who is getting your personal location information and who it's being shared with."

The senator had asked Uber last month to explain how it uses the real-time vehicle tracking tool in its app. (1.usa.gov/1xEkS2k)

Uber was not immediately available for comment.