They begin by setting up in parking lots and creating meeting points for drivers, who stop there to wash their cars, have lunch, access the internet and, above all, chat with other workers on digital platforms. With 12 spaces in Rio de Janeiro and about to open two in São Paulo, the pandemic changed them. “We had to close everything (…) and fire half the team. It was a complicated period, but it ended up being a real catalyst for change,” remembers Luiz Gustavo Neves, one of the co-founders of the Brazilian startup StopClub.

With social spaces left behind due to Covid-19, the company begins to develop and launch an application with tools to help drivers and couriers “work safer” and “have better financial returns.” Employees using the platform can connect with others, share their location and use their cell phone to record a trip, in video or audio format.

A functionality related to “financial performance” is also available, to help drivers understand whether the trips offered by the platforms are advantageous, and which led StopClub to confront Uber in court in Brazil. With the arrival of this resource in Portugal this week, Luiz Gustavo Neves and Pedro Inada, who share the role of CEO, tell the Observer that they are “committed” to users and admit that “it is not easy to be sued by a company the size from Uber.”

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The tools that drivers requested and that led to a “surprising” legal dispute

The tools to calculate the amount earned per trip and automatically reject those that are not advantageous were an express request from the drivers. Luiz Gustavo Neves says StopClub was in contact with lawyers to understand how it could satisfy users’ wishes, ensuring that “the trip information and all the data that Uber offers remained on their phones.” “We were cautious about it.”

Assurances that it does not have access to user data and that it does not interfere with the Uber app were not enough. The North American company filed a lawsuit before the courts of São Paulo against StopClub, which was “a surprise” for the co-founders, who claim to have been “very careful so that this did not happen.” These are the tools, launched in the first months of 2023, the “income calculation” (which tells the driver how much he will earn per kilometer traveled even before accepting the trip) and the “automatic rejection”, which allows him not to accept trips . with values ​​below the desired level to be profitable.

In statements to the Observer, StopClub explains that to calculate whether the value offered per trip is advantageous it uses “a function offered by Android”, “screen reading”. “When the Uber travel offer appears, we identify and read the screen (…) We do not enter the Uber application. We only read what is on the screen. With this we were able to do the calculations and show them to the driver,” says Luiz Gustavo Neves, who maintains that the prices presented to drivers should be fairer. The Brazilian startup believes that users should not “accept trips in which Uber offers less than two reais [cerca de 0,36€] per kilometer”.

At the opening of the legal process, according to the G1 website, the Uber claimed that StopClub violated its terms of use by allegedly accessing user and trip data. He also stated that he “cannot tolerate the existence of tools that encourage drivers to refuse trips, degrading the experience of users” and of the application. For this reason, he pointed out the Brazilian company as one of those responsible for the difficulties that passengers experience in finding drivers for the trips they intend to take.

In the lawsuit, filed before the São Paulo Court of Justice last summer, Uber asked that the tools be disabled. The request was initially accepted because the judge understood that users’ dissatisfaction with not being able to travel could be “motivated by the use of the functions made available by StopClub.”

According to the Metrópoles newspaper, the court gave StopClub up to five days to suspend the use of “profit calculation” and “automatic denial.” The startup appealed, arguing that it is not responsible for the dissatisfaction of Uber customers. The Brazilian court ended up revoking the decision, understanding that “unfair competition” had not been proven. “We had to eliminate [as ferramentas] for four days. On the fourth day, the judge decided that we were right,” recalls co-general director Luiz Gustavo Neves.

The tools are currently available in the StopClub app, which is expected to continue fighting Uber in court over the coming months. According to the co-founders, the process “will enter the evidence and expert opinion phase.” During the conversation with the Observer, Pedro Inada accuses the North American company of wanting to continue in a “dominant position” and lack of “transparency” in the information provided to drivers.

Luiz Gustavo Neves and Pedro Inada also say that Uber’s position contrasts with that of 99, another digital platform operating in Brazil, which did not raise problems with the tools and which, according to UOL, has already begun to make this information available to users. drivers.

Are you afraid of being sued in Portugal? “We will not stop”

With users of security-related tools, such as location sharing, in “more than 60 countries,” StopClub chose Portugal to begin expanding its “financial performance” features. When announcing his arrival in the Portuguese market on April 25, Luiz Gustavo Neves stated that he wanted to “contribute to the development of a stronger and more connected community of digital platform workers.” “Our mission is to provide greater income and quality of life” to drivers and couriers.

Days later, asked by Observador if he fears a possible lawsuit from Uber in Portugal, the co-general director begins by saying that “it is not easy to be sued” by a company the size of this multinational. However, he guarantees that he has “a commitment to users, to provide them with transparency to improve their lives.” “So, we are going to do this regardless of any threat from Uber of being sued” in a region other than Brazil.

Especially because the arguments they used here in Brazil against us are completely empty. They’re accusing us of things we don’t do, so We will not stop”Luiz Gustavo Neves stands out.

At the moment, in Portugal, StopClub tools still only “work on Uber”, but the company wants to “expand”. “Eventually,” although no date has been set for this to happen, Bolt will receive them. When asked if they notify the platforms when they start reading the screen, the co-founders say no. “We don’t even inform you because the feature we use is allowed by Android, it is accessibility”says Pedro Inada.

The entry into Portugal occurs after the closing of an investment of 5.9 million reais (more than one million euros), which allowed “the technical team to be hired to carry out the expansion.” At the moment, StopClub has 19 workers, and plans to hire 11 more people by the end of the year. Pedro Inada and Luiz Gustavo Neves hope to attract new investment by December, but do not provide further details. They also have “in sight” the next country that will receive the financial tools, but they refuse to reveal which one.

The provision of a camera – ‘in the background’ – to film trips

Before the launch of the financial tools, at the beginning of last year, StopClub already offered the possibility for drivers and couriers to transform their mobile phone into a hidden security camera, hidden behind other applications and activated with “two taps”. “When the person turns on the camera, nothing changes on the cell phone screen,” says Luiz Gustavo Neves, adding that “the fact that it is secret has already saved many lives in Brazil.” “If you are in a dangerous situation and they see that you have turned on the camera, you could be exposing yourself to even greater danger. In this case, since it remains in the background, the person is protected,” he argues.

Regarding the fact that consent is required to record a trip, the co-founder states that “the important thing is that the passenger is aware that they are being filmed.” The platforms themselves, he continues, “today allow drivers to have a security camera,” information that he says appears when the trip is requested. Uber, in a note on its website, confirms that it “allows drivers to install and use video cameras, dash cameras or other recording devices to record users for the purpose of providing transportation services.”

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Faced with the possibility that drivers do not inform the applications that they can film trips and do not request the consent of the passenger, Luiz Gustavo Neves admits that it’s complicated” and says that StopClub distributed, in Brazil, “almost 200 thousand” stickers to place on car windows with the phrase “this trip is being recorded for our safety.” Furthermore, he states that the drivers were instructed to warn the clients: “Just because you take that famous actor does not mean that you want to make a video without him knowing, that is wrong,” he exemplifies, showing what was said.

We are very strict about this. [do consentimento de gravação]. But it’s not much different in other places. For example, when you enter a commercial building or a gas station they are filming you,” she points out.

Asked, once again, about the possibility of the passenger being recorded and not knowing it, Luiz Gustavo Neves says that “he understands this side”, but appears focused on safety and the “life of the driver”. “When we stop at a gas station they are filming us all the time. And we don’t think it’s an invasion of privacy. I think it’s a matter of habit. [ser gravado num Uber]because the car is the driver’s private environment.”defend.

The issue of hidden cameras was not included in Uber’s lawsuit against StopClub. The Observer questioned the company to find out if it will take legal action against the Brazilian startup in Portugal, to find out why the camera is not included in the process in Brazil and to obtain confirmation on whether the possibility of the driver making recordings is shown. to customers in the application. But Uber did not respond to questions.