Cars may be your worst privacy ‘nightmare’ as Tesla, Nissan among ‘creepiest’, claims report – Times of India

Modern-day cars are getting smarter by the day. However, it seems like there’s a huge privacy cost attached to it, claims a research report by Mozilla. “While we worried that our doorbells and watches that connect to the internet might be spying on us, car brands quietly entered the data business by turning their vehicles into powerful data-gobbling machines,” says Mozilla in a blog post.
Mozilla reviewed 25 car brands in its research (in the US) to find out how those companies collect and use your data and personal information. The result? “Every car brand we looked at collects more personal data than necessary and uses that information for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with you,” says Mozilla.

Your data is being sold

While collecting data is something almost every company ends up doing, car companies, as per Mozilla are selling that data as well. Almost 84% of the car brands Mozilla researches said they can share your data with other businesses, service providers and data brokers. 19% said that they can also sell your data.
Bizarrely, the likes of Kia and Nissan say that they can collect information related to users’ sex life. The privacy policies of both car companies, as per Mozilla’s research, information about your sexual activity and sex life.
Of all the privacy tests, Mozilla conducted Elon Musk-owned Tesla failed on all counts. A key reason behind this is Tesla’s AI-powered autopilot feature, which has led to several deaths and remains under investigation as well.
Mozilla claims that it spent over 600 hours researching the car brands’ privacy practices, which is almost three times on any other product. “Even still, we were left with so many questions. None of the privacy policies promises a full picture of how your data is used and shared,” said Mozilla.