Multiple popular car brands are collecting and sharing drivers’ data, according to a recent study by CHOICE. The study focused on Australia‘s top 10 car brands and found that seven out of the 10 were collecting and sharing driving data with third parties. This revelation came after an Australian man purchased a brand new Toyota Hilux for $68,000, only to discover that the vehicle came with tracking features that couldn’t be entirely removed.
The man had difficulty getting his $2,000 deposit returned after he decided he didn’t want the vehicle due to concerns about data sharing. The Hilux was equipped with “connected services,” which include technology aimed at enhancing safety and security. However, removing this program would void the car’s warranty and potentially jeopardize insurance coverage.
Toyota Australia uses connected services to collect various types of data such as fuel levels, odometer readings, vehicle locations, driving data, phone numbers, and email addresses. If drivers don’t opt out of this service, Toyota can collect, hold, use, and disclose their vehicle data for research purposes.
Among Australia’s top 10 car brands surveyed by CHOICE, Subaru Mitsubishi ,and Isuzu Ute were found not to collect data through connected services. On the other hand,Tesla,Kia,and Hyundai collected the most amount of driver data.
It is worth noting that Chinese-owned company MG did not respond directly to questions regarding their privacy policy or whether they share their collected data with third parties.
Some car brands like Toyota,Ford,and Mazda confirmed that they share certain types of driver data but clarified that they do not share biometric information such as voice or video recognition. In contrast,Kia and Hyundai admitted to sharing voice recognition and other types of biometric information with a third-party company called Cerence.
The use of biometric information is considered sensitive under privacy laws,and experts argue for stricter consumer protection in this area.Vanessa Teague from the Australian National University’s College of Engineering,Cybernetics,and Computing criticized these practices,saying they should be illegal.She emphasized that claims about de-identifying biometric information are baseless.”What these car companies are doing is totally unacceptable,” she said.”It should be illegal.These practices are good evidence that we need updated or enforced privacy laws in our country.”