What data do these cars collect?
Connected vehicles are packed with sensors: in the seats, the dashboard, the engine, the steering wheel. Many also have additional driver-facing cameras plus external cameras. Vehicles can generate 1 to 2 terabytes of raw data per car each day.
Manufacturers collect sensor data to measure vehicle performance. However, collected data also includes precise geolocation data, infotainment use, whether you buckle your seatbelt, drive too fast or brake too hard, and whether you are sleepy or drank too much.
Some of the data collected, such as real-time location and when the driver and passengers are inside or outside the vehicle, can infer weight, age, race and facial expressions.
Vehicles also have access to data from Bluetooth connections to our cellphones. This includes contacts, mapping data, calendar information, habits and hobbies and a myriad of other data sets. Data shared through cellphones can provide even more personal data such as your financial and relationship status.
And it isn’t just driver data. The privacy of passengers is also of concern. Sales agreements state the driver is responsible for advising passengers anything they say or do can be collected by the on-platform sensors. It is up to the driver to warn passengers.
According to a 2023 report by software company Mozilla, vehicles are the most egregious for collecting personal information and violating privacy norms.
Of the 25 vehicles Mozilla reviewed, none passed their privacy review.
According to vehicle privacy disclosures reviewed by Mozilla, manufacturers use data for product evaluation and improvement. However, it is also made available for sale to affiliates and data aggregators where it is repackaged and sold.
In 2023, Reuters revealed Tesla employees privately shared highly invasive videos and images that had been collected from customers’ cars. The recordings reportedly included people in the nude and others involved in crashes.