Uber’s iOS app had the ability to record users’ screens, security researchers told Gizmodo on Thursday. 

The ride-hailing company had permission from Apple to build that ability into the app, and the researchers said Uber’s was the only app on the App Store that appeared to have that permission.

The capability was put in place to make the Uber app work more smoothly with the Apple Watch, said the researchers, Will Strafach and Luca Todesco. Strafach and Todesco said this permission, if abused or commandeered by hackers, could compromise a user’s passwords and other personal information as it passed across a smartphone screen.

Uber said there was a simple reason it had the permission. The capability “allowed Uber maps to render on your iPhone in the background and then be sent to your Apple Watch,” Uber spokeswoman Melanie Ensign said in an email.

“Apple gave us this permission because early versions of Apple Watch were unable to adequately handle the level of map rendering in the Uber app.” Ensign said. The company doesn’t need the permission anymore because of upgrades to Apple Watch and the Uber app. She added that Uber hasn’t used the software that relied on that permission for “quite some time” and it’s working with Apple to remove the capacity altogether.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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