You might already know that your car knows a lot about you, be it the recent location you have checked in to, your phone contacts, and with today’s modern designs, even your emails and texts. Cars could record your travel updates, or the number of presses on the accelerator or your seatbelt settings along with your biometric information.
While this might seem to be an innovative approach for a much easier ride, there exist some murky paths the data could be sold to, such as the Dark Web or other illicit marketplaces.
Vehicle Privacy Report
Privacy4Cars, a US-based automotive firm recently introduced a tool, Vehicle Privacy Report, that tells a car’s owner how much data is piled up in their cars. This is similar to the features in Apple and Google’s ‘privacy labels for apps’ that indicate how Facebook may use a user’s camera or location.
According to Privacy4Cars founder, Andrea Amico, people have a meager understanding in regards to the data their cars are capable of collecting and that the “level of detail and transparency varies” depending on the manufacturer. On the basis of this, the aforementioned tool has ranked most of modern automobiles as “smartphones on wheels,” since they could hoard large amounts of data and wirelessly permeate the information to manufacturers.
The Vehicle Privacy Report assigns privacy labels that fall into two categories: what a manufacturer collects (such as identifiers, biometrics, location, data from synced phones, and user profiles) and to whom a manufacturer sells or shares data (affiliates, service providers, insurance companies, governments, and data brokers). Most forms of data are probably gathered for the vast majority of automobiles and trucks that have been issued in the last few years.
The tool operates using a vehicle’s Identification Number (VIN) to assess each car’s manufacturer’s public policy document.
The documents may include corresponding car policies, privacy statements, and terms of service. Due to the fact that they are subject to the same regulations as other vehicles in the brand's portfolio, recent models from a manufacturer often acquire the same data. In general, when a legal request is made, all manufacturers will give information to the government or law enforcement.
These lengthy documents are frequently technical legal paperwork, which might be complex and contain nuances. They also describe the purposes for data collection, such as product development and market research, or personalization of advertising. For instance, in order for mapping and satellite navigation services to function, one must enter their location information. Additionally, not all information that is claimed to be collected may be gathered automatically; for example, the driver may need to turn on specific settings. In some circumstances, it may also be able to choose not to have information collected.
