“According to Mozilla research, popular global brands — including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru — can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive.
Researchers found data is being gathered by sensors, microphones, cameras, and the phones and devices drivers connect to their cars, as well as by car apps, company websites, dealerships, and vehicle telematics.
Brands can then share or sell this data to third parties. Car brands can also take much of this data and use it to develop inferences about a driver’s intelligence, abilities, characteristics, preferences, and more.”
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/
I did some further reading after sharing this, and it turns out that ”sexual activity” is actually mentioned verbatim in the Nissan USA privacy notice.
Fromt Nissan’s very real Privacy notice, under ”Categories of information we collect and disclose”:
”Sensitive personal information, including driver’s license number, national or state identification number, citizenship status, immigration status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnosis data, and genetic information.”
Not only that… as Mozilla Foundation writes:
”They also say they can share and even sell "Inferences drawn from any Personal Data collected to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes" to others for targeted marketing purposes. Yes, Nissan says they can infer things like how smart you are, if you have a predisposition to drink, if you are acting depressed, and if you are any good at chess (we're guessing that's what they can infer..it could be even worse than that), and then they say they can make as much money off that very personal information as they can. Nissan, you suck.”
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/nissan/
Some of you are wondering how the cars collect and share this if they have no internet connection. A lot of this data is actually collected through other means, and when you are in touch with a dealership. So it’s direct contact but also info they proactively collect through social media (not kidding! I just read Nissan’s privacy notice again) and credit reporting entities. If you have downloaded one of their apps, the internet connection is right there.
Of course, a lot more cars than you imagine have internet connections, and cars have had some sort of onboard computer since the 1970s. A lot of data is stored until it can be accessed or uploaded. And you often don’t even have to press buttons for something to be logged. Sensors are always on, marketed as making you safer, but also saving data to be sold to third parties.
So car companies may also combine information collected about you from your car with personal information they get from third parties. Then they can share (or even sell) that information, and any “inferences” they made based on it, to all kinds of businesses
And here’s another kicker… just by sitting in a vehicle that uses NissanConnect services, you agree to have your data collected by Nissan. So if you hitch a ride with a friend’s Nissan, you are on Nissan’s radar. The privacy policy makes it the responsibility of the owner to disclose this to anyone travelling in their car.
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/what-data-does-my-car-collect-about-me-and-where-does-it-go/