You think you’re sitting privately in your car? Think again.

Here’s another study about your privacy in your car, done by Mozilla, the privacy advocate:

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

If you have a modern “smart” car, or you’re willing to buy one, it’s a must-read.

Here’s the summary of the findings:

The car brands we researched are terrible at privacy and security

1. They collect too much personal data (all of them)
2. Most (84%) share or sell your data
3. Most (92%) give drivers little to no control over their personal data
4. Mozilla couldn’t confirm whether any of them meet our Minimum Security Standards

• Tesla seems to be the best of the bad bunch.
• Nissan earned its second-to-last spot for collecting some of the creepiest categories of data (read the article for the creepy details).
• Nissan makes you “promise to educate and inform all users and occupants of your Vehicle about the Services and System features and limitations, the terms of the Agreement, including terms concerning data collection and use and privacy, and the Nissan Privacy Policy.”
• Hyundai, in their privacy policy, says they will comply with “lawful requests, whether formal or informal”. Notice the last word?
• … the car companies do clearly know what they should be doing to respect your privacy even though they absolutely don’t do it.

Some suggested solutions to restoring your privacy:

• Sign the petition at the Mozilla article linked above.
• Remove the SIM card from the car.
• Disconnect the communication antenna, or unplug the modem (the hard part is finding out which circuit leads to the modem).
• Buy a an old “dumb” car model that doesn’t have all the modern spying features.