CLEVELAND — In the last 10 years, cars manufacturers have made huge improvements to the tech and safety features included on your favorite models. But the added computer technology has also turned our cars into data-gathering computers on wheels. Do you know what your car knows about you? Data security experts say probably more than you think.
Greg Ferreri bought a used 2017 Tesla Model S at the turn of the new year, extended his desire to go green after already owning a Nissan Leaf.
“It's got a lot of bells and whistles like that,” said Ferreri, proud of the amazing tech that was included. “It's got a full web browser. You can watch Netflix, Disney Plus -- a lot of those streaming services you can do through the car.
Cars nowadays do much more than get you from point A to point B. They’re technology machines, loaded with features to keep you safe, entertained and make life and a drive down the road more convenient than ever before.
According to Ferreri, “you're not just getting a car, you're getting a computer on wheels, right? There's so many of these convenience features that once you have them, you can't really live without.”
It all sounds great on the surface. But the smarter your car gets, the more privacy you lose.
"I’m aware that the car is recording things that I do and sending it back to the mothership. But I guess I don’t really get too hung up on it,” he said.
The data your car collects about you is known in the industry as “telematics.” And we’re not just talking maintenance information. It includes GPS derived location information and details about your driving habits including how you brake and accelerate, and even some of the information from your connected mobile devices.
There’s an entire industry built around analyzing and monetizing that information. Data brokers seek to harvest as much info as possible to monetize it any way possible. That’s where experts get concerned.
“Cars are becoming as connected to the internet and as valuable in terms of the information that they have as your smartphone, your browsing habits, and anything else,” said Jon Callas, Director of Technology for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He has studied several car brands to see which manufacturers harvest your information.
“There are cars that are intimately connected to their manufacturers,” said Callas. “The ones that we hear about most are Tesla.
Ferreri gave a good example of what information his car knows and provides to him in real time.
“If my wife is out driving the car, I can load the app and see exactly where she is, how fast she's going, what road she's driving down. So, it's always connected,” he said.
But if he can see that information, Tesla the manufacturer has access to as well. Tesla’s privacy policy specifically says it collects information from your device and vehicle, sharing that information at times for marketing purposes. And Tesla isn’t alone, GM’s OnStar works in a similar way. And some manufacturers like Hyundai have a system that tracks your driving habits with the ability to connect to insurance companies – offering you discounts on insurance. That means your data is also headed to third parties.
In some cases, it’s an opt-out system, meaning your data is automatically collected unless you explicitly say you don’t want it to be.
“They definitely should be upfront about it. No questions about that,” said Ferreri. “Unfortunately, they tend to bury it into a document that's five pages long that you have to scroll through.” What he’s referring to is a company’s privacy policy.
Some companies make opting out simple, especially when it comes to sharing info with third parties. But some of your telematics data is anonymized and sucked up with everyone else’s data without you knowing. That data can be useful, for instance, when you take your car in for repair. Experts say the dangerous part is not knowing exactly what’s happening with your data.
“The biggest danger really is that we don't know who is using it and for what purposes,” said Callas. “There are entire economies made of selling your data. And, and we ought to know about it ahead of time, rather than find out about it later.”
For people like Ferreri, the convenience features outweigh the privacy concerns. But as manufacturers make cars smarter, they’re also learning even more about you. At some point, you may want to draw a line.
Ferreri summed it up nicely saying, “it's kind of the world we live in now.”
More Headlines: