Cab aggregator Uber has started sending ads as push notifications in the Uber app and the move has apparently upset several Uber users, the media has reported. This time, it seems that Uber wants to make its app worse as the company has been experimenting with push notification ads, says a report by 9to5Mac.
According to a report by Gizmodo, several Uber users who got unrelated push notification advertisements on the Uber app took out their frustration on Twitter and shared screenshots of the promotions for the Peloton app inside the Uber app.
The cab-hailing company seems to be testing the limits of what its customers will put up with, and it’s unclear whether Uber riders can expect push ads to be a regular presence on their phones in the future, the Gizmodo report added. “This was a limited test and users can always manage their mobile notification settings under Privacy and then Notifications in the app,” Noah Edwardsen, an Uber spokesperson, was quoted as saying by Gizmodo.
It should be noted that the push notification ads come weeks after the company announced would launch a new advertising network in the app and across its platform.
“Through our advertising division, we can help leading brands grow their relationships with consumers by connecting them at a moment when a customer is uniquely attentive,” Mark Grether, General Manager of Uber’s New Advertising Division, said in a blog post in October.
“While these consumers are making purchase decisions and waiting for their destination or delivery we can engage them with messages from brands that are relevant to their purchase journeys. And with 1.87 billion trips last quarter, that means we can connect advertisers to consumers on average five times per month across rides and delivery," Grether added.