Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to take steps to protect its customers’ data after public outcry over a geo-location tracking system referred to as “God View,” the New York attorney general said.

The ride services provider pledged to encrypt rider location data and require special authentication for accessing other customer information, according to the agreement released Wednesday. The settlement also requires Uber to pay a $20,000 penalty over a data breach in September 2014.

Uber, which wants to expand its services to Buffalo, connects would-be riders to drivers who provide their services on a contract basis. Riders hail drivers via an app for mobile phones which shows the location of riders and drivers on a map.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman opened an investigation into Uber’s collection of rider information in 2014 amid reports that company executives had access to the location data. The company displayed that data in an aerial view of cars driving in a city, which was known internally as “God View.”

“We are committed to protecting the privacy of consumers and customers of any product in New York State, as well as that of employees of any company operating here,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “I strongly encourage all technology companies to regularly review and amend their own policies and procedures to better protect their customers’ and employees’ private information.”

Uber said it, too, wants to protect the privacy of riders and drivers. It didn’t admit or deny any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General that resolves these questions and makes clear our commitment to best practices that put our community first,” Jessica Santillo, a spokeswoman for Uber, said in an email.

According to a January 2015 review of the company’s privacy policies by the law firm Hogan Lovells, an early version of the interface described as “God View” had been retired more than a year earlier and was replaced with an operations tool that masked customer data.

The company is fighting a lawsuit in San Francisco, where the company is based, over a 2014 hack of its computer data that drivers claim led to the improper disclosure of their personal information, including names and license numbers.

In February, Uber told Schneiderman that it had experienced a data breach involving the driver names and license numbers as early as September 2014.

The ride-hailing company is also embroiled in lawsuits filed by drivers seeking to be treated as employees rather than independent contractors. A federal judge last month vastly expanded the most advanced case, a class action in San Francisco, to include more than 100,000 drivers.

--With assistance from Joel Rosenblatt and Buffalo News staff reports.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christie Smythe in Brooklyn at csmythe1bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovinbloomberg.net Peter Blumberg, Michael Hytha