Is your car spying on you?

Most of us know about how newer cars record things like rapid acceleration and hard braking and report that data to insurance companies (among others) but I, for one, never realized the full extent of the data collection.

Popular global brands including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru were found to collect "deeply personal data" on their users, such as immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive. Mozilla's researchers found that data is being gathered by a combination of sensors, microphones, and cameras; as well as the car's app, which provides a gateway to information on your phone; and third-party apps like Sirius XM and Google Maps...

The research project found Nissan to be the worst offender; the company admits to collecting a wide range of information in its privacy policy including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data. However, it doesn't say exactly how it collects this information.

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mensjournal.com

I'm still trying to find what year/s are considered "newer cars", but I haven't found that yet. It would be nice to know just what information my car is collecting and who it's being sold to. One article I read said that Ford makes "Millions" annually selling customer information.
 

Probably. All the good they could do with this technology, but instead they are only obsessed with data mining. Expletive delated at these obsessive compulsive data miners.
 

Most of us know about how newer cars record things like rapid acceleration and hard braking and report that data to insurance companies (among others) but I, for one, never realized the full extent of the data collection.

Popular global brands including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru were found to collect "deeply personal data" on their users, such as immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive. Mozilla's researchers found that data is being gathered by a combination of sensors, microphones, and cameras; as well as the car's app, which provides a gateway to information on your phone; and third-party apps like Sirius XM and Google Maps...

The research project found Nissan to be the worst offender; the company admits to collecting a wide range of information in its privacy policy including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data. However, it doesn't say exactly how it collects this information.

- mensjournal.com

I'm still trying to find what year/s are considered "newer cars", but I haven't found that yet. It would be nice to know just what information my car is collecting and who it's being sold to. One article I read said that Ford makes "Millions" annually selling customer information.
Yet another confirmation we live in a society that cares nothing for individual privacy or rights.
 
The car? No. The people who made the car and their operatives and partners? They almost certainly are. FWIW, I do not subscribe to the on-line features that they do a lot of spying. Why should I pay for them to collect my data and sell it to other snoops? But, I imagine data is stored in the car’s computers and would be accessible if they got their hands on the vehicle.

My phone spies on me much more than my car. I ditched google search and use Duckduckgo. It’s now quite good.
 
Others: Laptop, Smart TV, Printers, Phone, Voice assistants, Health devices, Security cameras, Thermostat, Refrigerator, dishwasher, coffee machine,,,etc. I never take online surveys nor signup for retail loyalty cards, someone in the checkout line is always willing to let me use theirs.
 
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When we start our car the infotainment screen pops up with a message to the effect that data is being transmitted to somewhere in the sky. I spent some time following directions from a forum about our model of cars trying to disable the snooping. Very limited success. There may be some black box benefit when that data is used in court cases, but I'm willing to bet that insurance companies with use it to the determent of us as customers.
 
I presume this is just for the US. The article is from May 2023.

Carmakers are spying on you — here's how to stop them

What do they want to know?

A new online tool shows all the info your car has on you. It’s called the Vehicle Privacy Report and is made by a company called Privacy4Cars. All you have to do is enter your car’s VIN and the tool spits out all the privacy policies about the company that built your vehicle.

Here’s what you may find when you plug in your VIN:

  • Identifiers that show who you are.
  • Location data that shows where you are and where you went.
  • Biometrics, which includes data collected by your car’s microphone and camera.
  • Voice recordings collected by your voice assistant in the car — do you ask for directions or make calls via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto?
  • Data synced from your devices connected to the car with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB, such as smartphones and tablets.
The tool also lists who your information is shared with, such as insurance companies, the government and data brokers.
 
I'm not sure being overly concerned about a spy in the steering wheel isn't just too little too late. Our personal data including all our activities is out there being used and reused. The phrase smart phone isn't even half of it.
 
Another article from April 2024.

Car companies are collecting data on you — here's how to get it

The insurance companies are making good use of this info.

I talked about this on my show last week and got a ton of questions: Automakers and insurance companies are in cahoots to share data on your driving, hard braking, rapid acceleration and more. That’s why your car insurance probably went up. Mine did.

Cache in your chips

Let’s start here. Cars today contain anywhere from 1,000 to over 3,000 computer chips that handle:

  • Engine management and performance
  • Infotainment and communication systems
  • Safety features like braking, airbags and driver assistance
  • Power steering and other vehicle dynamics
  • Battery management and power control in electric vehicles
Now, what do you think all these chips also do? Righto, collect a ton of data.

Open the door for data brokers

A data broker called LexisNexis collects info from your car’s computer systems about your speeds, braking and accelerating. Plus, all the trips you’ve taken, how long they were and what time you took them. These reports can stretch hundreds of pages.

These reports can stretch hundreds of pages. They include all the trips you’ve taken, how long they were and what time you took them.

So, how do they get all that info? Automakers like GM build tracking into your car’s computer and sell it to LexisNexis for big bucks. Then, LexisNexis turns around and sells it to insurance companies, which use it to ratchet up your premium.

It’s one big cycle of screw-the-consumer. The only good news: The report’s about you, so you’ve got the right to see it. You can see all your data under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

I grabbed my report — here’s how to get yours:

  • Head to the LexisNexis Consumer Disclosure Report page online.
  • Click Request a Consumer Disclosure Report Online (or use the postal or phone options if you prefer).
  • Fill out your name and address, click Submit Request, then sit back and wait. You may get an email to confirm your request. The report will come via USPS.
I’m still waiting for my report. It’s been 10 days so far.

So, can I stop this tracking?

Unfortunately, without national privacy laws, you can’t do much. But there are a couple of ways to opt out:

  • If your car has an app: Opt out of sharing any data with third parties. Head to settings and look for data sharing options, like “Data Privacy” or “Data Usage.”
  • In your car’s infotainment system: Look for options like Toyota’s “Insure Connect” or Kia’s “Driving Score.” Check for any sort of driver scoring or feedback option. Other names to look out for:
    • GM’s “Smart Driver”
    • Honda’s “Driver Feedback”
    • Mitsubishi’s “Driving Score”
FYI, if you live in California: You can request that car companies don’t share your data. Lucky you. I have the links to all the privacy request pages for major car brands below.

Tip: Sometimes, you must confirm the request via email, so check your inbox.

Privacy watchdogs say that disabling certain data features in cars like Teslas could make them undrivable in a few years, but for now, I’ll take my chances.

Giant data-sucking companies shouldn’t be allowed to operate like this. Ask about it next time you sign up for car insurance — even just to let them know consumers like you and me aren’t OK with this.

🤣 My insurance agent asked if I had ever hit a deer. I told him yes. But in my defense, he swung first.
 
I saw a report (more of an opinion piece I suppose) recently that said sensors placed along major roads can easily record the passing of vehicles by the broadcasts from their tire pressure monitoring system modules. These send serial numbers as well as pressure levels.

This is enough to be correlated with other radio outputs and vehicle readings during service to tie the TPMS serials to a VIN. So there isn't any need for "transponder plates" or camera/OCR to follow vehicles as they move or even record average speed as one moves through an area.

Great for enforcing geofencing in a future world of "15-minute city" confinement.
 
If the battery in my 2021 Hyundai is low, I get an email and there's a monthly electronic check on how well the car is doing.
I guess you could know wherever I drove, due to GPS.
That said, I doubt any car would know the immigration status of the driver. I think it's a little overkill to believe a car is ratting on driver's race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information.
I think there are some issues about the data that is collected- speed, breaking, destinations, operating data, etc. But I have a hard time believing my Hyundai Elantra is giving me secret DNA tests, whenever I use it.
 
This is some research I did with help from claude.ai

When automobiles were first introduced in the late 1800s, they faced very restrictive speed limits around 10-12 mph due to safety concerns about this new and disruptive technology sharing roads with pedestrians and horse carriages. Speeds were kept artificially low until the 20th century.

As cars became more mainstream and made design improvements like brakes and safety features, speed limits were gradually increased to allow 70+ mph in many states by the 1960s. However, there was a period of tightening regulation again in the 1970s when a national 55 mph limit was imposed to conserve fuel.

It wasn't until 1995 that full deregulation happened - states could set their own maximum speeds as the technology had matured enough to offload most decision-making to local authorities based on perceived costs/benefits for their jurisdictions. That took 100 years.

We could potentially see a similar regulatory journey play out for artificial intelligence development:

Initial restrictive policies around data collection, model development, and AI application due to concerns about the risks and disruptive impacts.
A period of regulation tightening/loosening as benefits and potential negative externalities are better understood, with blanket national/international policies.
Eventually, deregulation or localized regulatory regimes as AI governance matures and best practices emerge to navigate the technology responsibly based on sector/geographic context.

The timelines and specifics will certainly differ between automobiles and AI. But the general arc of restrictive → nationally-regulated → locally-moderated could represent one path that transformative technologies tend to follow as they become more established over decades.

Of course, getting the timing and degree of regulatory steps right is critical. Overly cautious policies can stifle innovation unnecessarily. While premature deregulation of a still-nascent technology could court disaster. Navigating that balance thoughtfully will be an key challenge for AI.
 
I'm conflicted on this. As a safe driver myself it shouldn't bother me. However I still don't like the idea of Big Brother watching me. So I'll hang on to my 15 year old Honda as long as I can. On the other hand the way some of these idiots out there drive, they deserve to have their insurance rates jacked up.
 
Many newer cars have an eSIM and cellular data radio hardware built right in.

I guess people don't have a clue how things like GPS really work: it's receive-only and only used to deliver information to calculate coordinates and current time. Everything else people think of as "GPS" just takes that tiny bit of info and applies it to far larger amounts of data like a database of map images, and text-to-speech.

Remember that when you're behind the wheel: most of those other drivers out there are cavemen pushing buttons they don't comprehend.
 
Murder without consequences was also unavoidable in the Middle Ages if you were the landowner and your killed one of your serfs.

Murder of American slaves without consequences was unavoidable before about 1865, and in some states, even after 1865, because we had no laws banning it. They were pigs and goats in the eyes of the law before 1865 and therefore, if a massa was unhappy, he could kill them.

All we have to do is PASS LAWS. That is all that has to be done. It's like the DDT fight of the 1960s and early 70s - "Oh we MUST have our DDT!" they cried. BULL PUCKEY. But it still took 20 years to phase out all DDT in the U.S. because our Congress is often made of wimpy people.

All it takes is new laws - no wars, no bloodshed. Just laws.
 
The car? No. The people who made the car and their operatives and partners? They almost certainly are. FWIW, I do not subscribe to the on-line features that they do a lot of spying. Why should I pay for them to collect my data and sell it to other snoops? But, I imagine data is stored in the car’s computers and would be accessible if they got their hands on the vehicle.

My phone spies on me much more than my car. I ditched google search and use Duckduckgo. It’s now quite good.
Believe me, your credit/debit cards spy on you just as much as your phone and car.
This link shows a 10-page document that outlined the Fed’s guidelines in spying on the financial transactions of Americans.

The act is called “Hotwatch” and in a nutshell means that the government can watch in real time the activity of credit card transactions, airline and hotel reservations, debit card transactions, cell phone calls, and rental car activities of its own citizens.

Hotwatch bypasses the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution and instead use a subpoena to order credit card issuers and other retailers to provide detailed real time information about the financial moves of the person being watched.
 


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