The Bird (scooter) iPhone app asked me for Bluetooth. It said something about "nearby scooters" which I think is a flat out lie because you unlock them via QR code? Probably also tracking...
Well let’s be realistic, it said nearby scooters. Not “unlock scooters.”
There is the completely valid use case of a scooter that isn’t able to send it’s location to the app yet is close by to you. So it can be found with Bluetooth.
That isn’t to say that the app is isn’t tracking where you go, it doesn’t need the Bluetooth connection to its scooters because you need to turn GPS on to find the scooters.
The app forsure is tracking where you go. There are some areas that are “slow zones” where the scooter won’t go past a certain mph and is throttled. This is done in real time.
COUP scooters (popular in Germany and Spain) use Bluetooth for unlocking it before starting the drive. Not sure what is the reason for that vs. unlocking it through internet connection though.
Faster? More resilient? If they went through the cellular network, there would be more latency, and if the scooter is in a place with poor network coverage, it might not work at all.
(I'm assuming that most phones have better reception than the cheap cellular modems inside scooters)
skellera|6 years ago
There is the completely valid use case of a scooter that isn’t able to send it’s location to the app yet is close by to you. So it can be found with Bluetooth.
That isn’t to say that the app is isn’t tracking where you go, it doesn’t need the Bluetooth connection to its scooters because you need to turn GPS on to find the scooters.
tru3_power|6 years ago
wmurmann|6 years ago
bengotow|6 years ago
Actually, I have an android phone around here somewhere loaded up with a BLE inspector app, gonna see if they actually broadcast bluetooth :-p
vytis|6 years ago
jakobegger|6 years ago
(I'm assuming that most phones have better reception than the cheap cellular modems inside scooters)