Car users face the risk of having their personal data collected
Today, the presence of connectivity features allows cars from most manufacturers to collect a lot of personal user data.
What may seem trivial to one person may be a treasure to another. One person’s driving habits may mean nothing to another, but they are of great interest to automakers, who are collecting this data along with a host of other personal data through new cars.
Many automakers admit that they collect data through public privacy policies. However, we have no idea what they do with that data.
Some of the data is suspected to have ended up in the hands of data brokers, insurers, regulators and possibly other organisations. It’s a combination of data that Privacy4Cars uses for its Vehicle Privacy Report.
For example, Ford F-150 owners in the US should know that the automaker can collect information such as how fast you drive and how you press the pedals. Ford also stores data about owners, including their location information and driver's license.
Toyota says it can collect information such as driving behavior, acceleration, speed, braking, and direction of travel. Some models can even recognize your face when you get in the car.
Notably, the full report from the siteWiredA Toyota spokesperson said the data is not human-readable and that any facial features are stored in the car and not transmitted to Toyota. They also said that customers can turn off the data transmission.
In the US, Chevrolet collects information like location, driving history, speed, transmission status, and even window data. They can even collect information about your energy use at home if you charge your GM electric car there.
A piece of data may seem completely useless to any individual but to a company or a malicious party it can become invaluable.
The full analysis report ofWiredIt is a reminder that you should at least know exactly what personal data of yours can be exposed every time you get in a car.
