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DoorDash wants to share your location data with restaurants for faster pickups

DoorDash wants to share your location data with restaurants for faster pickups

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

DoorDash is launching a new feature to let customers share their location so restaurants can better know when to have an order ready for pickup.

In theory, knowing when you’re nearby could let the restaurant place your food in an area away from restaurant staff and other patrons to help enforce social distancing recommendations. But you’ll also have to share your exact location with the DoorDash app while the app is running to be able to use the feature.

If do you opt to share your location, though, as you get close to the restaurant where you placed your DoorDash order, the restaurant will get a notification that you’re nearby, according to DoorDash.

Food delivery services have rolled out new delivery and pickup options to help reduce face-to-face contact during the pandemic. Postmates introduced curbside pickup for restaurants last week and has let you request to have deliveries left at your door since March. Instacart and GrubHub also rolled out similar no-contact delivery options in March. And DoorDash has temporarily made no-contact deliveries the default delivery option.

Update, May 20th, 11:12AM ET: Added that DoorDash also has a no-contact delivery option.