Sharing Economy: 3 Ways To Protect Yourself When Giving Out Your Information

There’s no denying that Uber, Seamless, TaskRabbit and other “sharing economy” services have made people’s lives infinitely easier. By pushing a few buttons, we can arrange have a car sent to our exact GPS coordinates, a hot meal delivered our doorstep, or our groceries picked up and waiting for us at home.

Of course, there’s a flip side to these technological conveniences. Users of sharing economy apps provide their full names, photos, phone numbers, and locations to coordinate services with the company’s independent workers. While these individuals often only use customers’ information for its intended purpose of fulfilling orders, there are those who abuse this access to personal data, leaving consumers questioning whether the risk to their privacy and safety is worth it.