A new patent filed by Uber suggests the ride-sharing company is thinking about making its UberPool feature more social.
The filing, spotted by Business Insider, indicates that Uber would first let users connect their Facebook profiles with the app.
The proposed feature would then tell you about any common information you might have with someone who wanted to share a ride on UberPool.
In addition to showing you mutual Facebook friends, or friends of friends, Uber would also surface if you were from the same place, went to the same college, or had any shared hobbies – based on your Facebook data.
As well as aiming to make UberPool less awkward, it would also let the taxi tech giant create an “exclusive” UberPool service – letting you request to only share Ubers with people you had something in common with.
And although Uber’s patent has not yet been accepted, it’s an interesting look at how the biggest tech companies are looking to connect us in the real world.