How modern day smart cars might be turning into a privacy nightmare?
"Modern cars are a privacy nightmare." This is the new revelation made in a study by Mozilla Foundation. Let's dig out more about this latest study in this article.
Despite privacy being an essential factor in our life we don't think privacy exists anymore amid all the data security breaches by many companies for financial gains or due to unintentional errors. Yes, it remains a matter of major concern because your confidential, protected, or private information is being exposed to a third without your knowledge on many occasions. The new in the business are car manufacturers who have smoothly made a transition into the data industry.
The latest report from the Mozilla Foundation is grabbing many eyeballs since it claims that it researched at least 25 leading car manufacturers and their study revealed that customers' privacy is at a greater risk. The California-based company in its study highlights that in addition to collecting a large amount of data, the smart car manufacturers even sell this data without a trace. This is shocking to know that the study includes big names in the car industry including Nissan, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda, Kia, Ford, Tesla, and Toyota among other big brands.
Mozilla which manages the Firefox web browser says in its blog post, "Modern cars a privacy nightmare. While we worried that our doorbells and watches that connect to the internet might be spying on us, car brands quietly entered into the data business by turning their vehicles into powerful data-gobbling machines."
Approximately 600 hours of research were spent by Mozilla researchers reviewing these car companies' privacy policies. This is three times the time it usually spends on any study. The privacy practices of luxury brands like Mercedes and BMW are as bad as those of the above-mentioned brands, reports Mozilla.
Depending on how the vehicle is used, data is collected on all sorts of things such as driving speed, where it is driven, and even the music being listened to. It is also surprising that car makers like Kia and Nissan claim to be able to collect information about a user's sexual life. As per Mozilla research, both car companies keep information about your sexual activity and sexual life in their privacy policies.
The organization also claims that 37 percent of mental health apps adhered to better data collection and user practices. It also found that 84 percent of the reviewed car companies disclosed their users' personal information to service providers and data brokers with 76 percent saying that they have the right to sell the data. As many as 56 percent of companies are willing to give out their personal information to the government if they are asked. There were flags in every privacy category for Tesla in the research making it the worst-ranked car brand. What You Can Do To Avoid It?
No wonder the smart cars are a new craze at present. But, should you stop driving after these shocking revelations? Of course, this is not possible or a practical solution for either of us. It is also advisable to limit the permissions your phone gives to the car's app or avoid using it altogether. The Mozilla Foundation has also suggested and listed several steps in its review to protect more of your privacy. Moreover, it has started a petition urging the car companies to stop collecting the data through these privacy practices for their benefit. The research and petition will help spread awareness among others. However, the steps you are taking seem to be small compared to all the data you can't control. Furthermore, you should not have to compromise your privacy in exchange for all the features that you pay for. Bottom Line
It is worrisome how these car companies are collecting the users' data in the name of privacy policies. Therefore customers should carefully read the privacy policies and be aware of the types of information that are being collected from them.