Today’s new cars come equipped with high-tech features for buyers, from their own operating systems to navigation and remote unlocking.
But with these advances come questions about driver privacy, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at automotive website Edmunds.
“While we’ve made a lot of progress with new features, many of them rely on data,” he said, whether through The car’s built-in computer or mobile phone connects to the car’s system’s GPS service.
According to one person, almost every new car collects different types of details about you, and they share and sell that data. September report go through Mozillaa data privacy advocate, studied the privacy practices of 25 different car brands.
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The report found that the majority of brands reviewed (84%) shared personal data with service providers, data brokers and other unnamed parties. Some 76%, or 19 brands surveyed, said they sell customer data to third parties.
Mozilla found that currently only two car brands allow users to delete their profiles: Renault and Dacia.
“This is still the ‘Wild West’ of data collection and aggregation,” said Theresa Payton, founder, president and CEO of Fortalice Solutions, a cybersecurity consulting firm.
“Consumers still face some challenges,” she said, as drivers try to find the best car to fit their budget and privacy concerns.
What’s certain is that the data collected by cars today is likely to be shared with “the phones we already have in our pockets,” said Tom McParland, a staff writer for the automotive website Jalopnik and who runs the car-buying service Automatch Consulting. The data are not much different.
“Think about how you use your phone,” Drury said. “People don’t realize they’re giving up a lot when it comes to data.”
While it can still be difficult to do your own research, there are three steps car buyers can take when evaluating a potential new vehicle, experts say.
1. Ask the dealer about data privacy issues
Experts say that once you’ve narrowed your choices down to a specific vehicle, one of the first things you can do is talk to the dealer to see what insights they can give you about the brand’s profile-gathering practices.
Payton said you can ask the dealer’s representative about the automaker’s privacy policy and your ability to opt-in or opt-out of data collection, data aggregation and data monetization, or the sale of your data to third-party vendors. . .
Additionally, ask if you can remain anonymous and the data will not be aggregated under your name and vehicle’s unique identifier, she said.
Dealership staff “may even recommend that you speak to a service manager, who often needs to handle any repairs, follow-up work and technical components,” Drewry said.
“Your service provider or service advisor is actually more insightful than the salesperson,” he said.
2. Contact your car insurance company
Drewry says it might also be worth asking your car insurance company about car data collection. Auto insurance companies may receive this data when automakers share or sell it.
He said while dealer personnel have some knowledge of a specific vehicle, insurance companies may have a better overall understanding of it because they cover many different makes and models.
“I would ask the insurance company, ‘Are you using this? Can you opt in or out of different devices for monitoring,'” Drury said.
3. Wipe the car’s on-board computer regularly
Nowadays, many new vehicles are basically equipped with on-board computers. Payton said if you don’t want your vehicle data to be tracked or collected and shared, you can find instructions in your vehicle owner’s manual on how to delete your personalized data and information from your vehicle’s computer.
“If you’re already in the car and you like the car, but you don’t like the data tracking, this might be a good way to do it,” she said.
She says that while you may not know whether data has been collected and sent to third parties, you can do so on a regular basis.
Individual online tools may also be helpful: Payton said an online resource called Privacy4Cars can help users delete personal data stored by automakers, including text messages and geolocation.
“They provide this tool to help users understand the data their cars collect and provide them with choices to protect their privacy,” she said.
Why removing your car’s computer may not work
In a recent episode of The New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast, a woman paid a mechanic $400 to remove a device that provides Internet connectivity in her car.She is essentially Disconnect Her car was unable to share her location, and in the process, Features such as navigation services and calling roadside assistance are lost.
While it’s possible to isolate and remove car parts or chips like this, you can’t just remove a car’s CPU, McParland said.
“Almost everything is going to have these integrated systems now,” he said.
Drewry agrees: “These systems are so integrated into everything your vehicle does. Sensors… contribute to the vehicle’s semi-autonomous functions, which are connected to your throttle, steering and brakes. It’s extremely dangerous for someone to walk around in there and start pulling plugs.”
Drivers can always go into the older used car market and find a vehicle without high-tech features, but such cars may be at risk as they age, McParland said.
In addition, a car’s on-board computer can provide many safety features, such as car alarms, Payton said: “If you ostensibly turn off the on-board computer, you might miss it. It’s finding the right balance, which is risk versus reward.”
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