Researchers who spent more than 600 hours investigating automobile brands’ privacy practices say that cars are the official worst category of products for privacy they have ever reviewed. In a new report from Mozilla, all 25 car brands researched were found to collect “more personal data than necessary” and use “that information for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with you.” Car companies have more data-collecting opportunities than with other products, according to the report, including:Concerned over a growing surveillance state? Then stop driving.
Researchers found that car companies are collecting medical information, genetic information, and data about your sex life, in addition to information about how fast you drive, where you drive, and what songs you like. Of the 25 brands that were studied, 84 percent say they can share personal data with companies like service providers, data brokers, and other businesses, while 76 percent say they can sell personal data. Only two brands, Renault and Dacia (owned by the same parent company), say that drivers have the right to have their personal data deleted, according to the report. Only four of the car companies responded to requests for clarity on privacy policies, but still did not answer basic security questions, researchers said. Tesla received the worst rating and is “only the second product we have ever reviewed to receive all of our privacy ‘dings’” in the report. Mozilla says the ranking was earned because of the car’s AI-powered autopilot. Nissan earned the researchers’ second-to-last spot for “collecting some of the creepiest categories of data we have ever seen,” including your sexual activity. Kia also collects information about drivers’ sex lives, while six car companies collect your genetic information. Mozilla stated in the report that “researching cars and privacy was one of the hardest undertakings we as privacy researchers have ever had.”
