Snippet: It’s Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy ☇

Jen Caltrider, Misha Rykov and Zoë MacDonald for Mozilla Foundation’s Privacy Not Included (via Dan Gillmor):

Car makers have been bragging about their cars being “computers on wheels” for years to promote their advanced features. However, the conversation about what driving a computer means for its occupants’ privacy hasn’t really caught up. 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. Machines that, because of their all those brag-worthy bells and whistles, have an unmatched power to watch, listen, and collect information about what you do and where you go in your car. […]

Nissan earned its second-to-last spot for collecting some of the creepiest categories of data we have ever seen. It’s worth reading the review in full, but you should know it includes your “sexual activity.” Not to be out done, Kia also mentions they can collect information about your “sex life” in their privacy policy. Oh, and six car companies say they can collect your “genetic information” or “genetic characteristics.” Yes, reading car privacy policies is a scary endeavor.

Not to pick on just Nissan and Kia, but all of the brands are creepy and disgusting in their own way and we sort of just allowed it to happen because “your car has an app now!” Although I assumed it was for data-mining, but GM dumping CarPlay makes way more sense now, as that may be the last little corner that a connected car would not have insight into.