It's no secret that Uber uses surge pricing at peak periods, such as New Year's Eve, when demand is high. The company has determined that customers are more willing to accept surge pricing if they know their phone is about to lose power. The Uber app will always ask a potential passenger to confirm the higher fare first before requesting a car. The ride-hailing service is alerted when a customer's phone battery is running low because the app switches into power-saving mode. But what many may not know is that when you download the Uber app, the company can track your smartphone battery life — and it's studying how that influences your price point.

Source: CBC News May 21, 2016 10:37 UTC