367

Nowadays, our cars are anything but a private space — they are full blown data collection nightmares on wheels.

New Mozilla research has revealed that popular global car brands — like Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Audi, Jeep, Honda, Volkswagen, and more — are collecting your deeply personal data, like your genetic information and sexual activity. This invasive harvesting of information is collected via a web of sensors, microphones, cameras and the phones, apps, and connected services you use in your vehicle.

Car companies are brazenly collecting deeply personal information about people the moment they get into a car, often without explicit consent to do so. And that’s why the Mozilla community is now coming together to force car companies to respect our right to privacy. Add your name to ask car companies to stop collecting, sharing and selling our very personal information.

Find out more about our research on cars in the official launch blog post.

all 49 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

All together now…

👏 right

👏 to

👏 privacy

[-] Evkob@lemmy.ca 30 points 1 year ago

Another reason bicycles are the best form of transport 😎

You mean I get to exercise, see my city from close up, reduce my environmental impact and protect my privacy??

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

Lots of bicycles are implementing spyware these days too. Obviously not "analog" bikes.

[-] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

You mean like Van Moof? They collect a shit ton of data.

[-] Whiskey@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago
[-] suenoromis@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I wouldn't say best form of transport because it depends what you're transporting, how far you're going and when do you need to be there, if you're commuting to work or cycling for pleasure.

If it really was the best form of transport, I would have a bike, but because of what my job demands it is literally impossible or insane to do.

That being said, I do miss my old bike (it got stolen 😔) and tinkering with it, super worth the money I bought it for.

[-] librechad@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

WHO'S GOING TO CARRY THE BOATS?!

[-] shiveyarbles@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I don't know that seat is probably absorbing data from your buttctack

[-] Crabhands@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Im a cyclist who would love to not have to own a car but its just impossible between the suburbs, winter climate, and shitty, dirty public transport in my city. It also takes 10x longer to get anywhere. Plus anyone I know who bikes to work stinks.

[-] dustywinter@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 1 year ago

Is there such a thing as open source vehicle system software?

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 year ago

Possibly. But wire cutters exist. Installing custom firmware for a car seems unnecessarily dangerous. Just remove the fuse, cut a wire or go to a local shop and get the comms system disabled.

[-] HeartyBeast@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

Easier said than done when the car has an eSIM embedded who-knows-where

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 year ago

Which doesnt matter if the sim has no power.

[-] HeartyBeast@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

How are you going to find the power supply if you don't know where it is? It's doubtful it will be on its own dedicated fuse supply.

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

If you can't read your car's repair manual, pay a mechanic to do it for you. I doubt they will say no. Almost every manufacturer has a rapair manual.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Unfortunately it's not that simple. Some cars will not function properly without a cellular connection. They're designed that way.

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago

Which would mean that, again, every time you enter a tunnel your car goes up in flames? I don't know what you guys wanna tell me here but what you're saying is bullshit.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

It's not bullshit, you just don't know what you're talking about. It won't burst into flames but some features may not work, it may not charge at public stations, or it may just not move at all.

[-] Trebach@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Then there's a lot of the US that they're not going to function properly in.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

How is the location relevant?

[-] MeatballFlag 4 points 1 year ago

Because some areas have poor to no cell reception

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[-] MeatballFlag 2 points 1 year ago

Cars don't cease to function when driven in areas with little to no cell reception...

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They certainly can if they're designed that way.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 6 points 1 year ago

Not a viable solution since this will likely result in your entire infotainment system or other features being unusable. Not having the radio in your car work or not having safety features work would suck.

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago

Oh no tapes tablet to car. Anyways, why would you entire infotainment system not work? You would just have no internet connection. Radio doesn't work, yes, however most sane humans stream music anyways which is possible via bluetooth or, in case the comms module would also disable bluetooth, cable. Your choice, private sex life or ✨features✨.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Because that's how they wire the cars. It's like when you block shit with pihole and it breaks basic functionality. At least with pihole you can fine tune which domains you block. When you cut a wire, you power down the entire thing.

Guess what happens when you connect your phone to your car via bluetooth? Data collection! Most of the data collection happens from phones bro. You're literally better off leaving the car alone and simply NEVER connecting your phone, unless it's with an aux cable.

You don't have to lecture me about privacy vs. Features. I fully get it. I value privacy very much. All I'm saying is that it will likely fuck up car features that you want if you randomly start cutting cables.

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago

Most of the data collection does not happen from my phone bRoO. I use Graphene and if I don't give my foss music app access to the internet, the app can collect as much data as it wants. Besides, what do I care if someone knows what music I listen to if in comparison the car manufacturer, who I likely gave my personal information to first hand, knows things far more private. I don't have sex in my car, but if I did I would much rather have them know that I listen to "I'm a barbie girl" on repeat. And I doubt that cutting off connection will brick your car. If that was the case, my car would brick almost every time I enter a tunnel. The car does not check for connections like an effing website. If the comms were to be completely disabled or one would remove a fuse, sure. Your car might refuse to start, throw an error what have you. But if you simply remove the antenna, all bueno. Wanna know why they don't refuse service without a connection? Because people would regularly die which makes this behaviour illegal :). And I do have to lecture you, as you seem to have a lot to learn and I don't see a reason why anybody should put their pride first. I mean don't even know anybody on here.

Oh and I did not say to randomly cut cables. I said to cut antennas. Do not under any circumstance cut a cable. It might be the windshield wipers or it might be a sensor for abs. You are absolutely correct that this is the worst idea one could have if they value their life. Well I mean no life means no privacy concerns.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just remove the fuse, cut a wire or go to a local shop and get the comms system disabled.

You literally said "cut a wire" in your original response...

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well, never downvoted my own comment before. Other points still stand. And yes, just to make sure, to anyone reading, do not just randomly start cutting wires.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 4 points 1 year ago

Well, never downvoted my own comment before

You have paid for your sins in blood. You are cleansed.

[-] ano@burggit.moe 1 points 1 year ago

I haven't heard of any - and if there were I bet you the car companies would do everything they can to prevent you from installing it.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

are collecting your deeply personal data, like your genetic information and sexual activity

Most of these policies are just putting in there as a sort of "catch-all" in case they collect it incidentally. I don't see anything to indicate that they're actively collecting this information.

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 year ago

Not a great take. "I'm probably not going to take all this money that's sitting on the table. I could if I wanted to, I just don't know if I really want to. Maybe. Will I?"

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

That's not my "take", that's just the facts of the situation.

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

Do all of your "the facts" start with "probably", "possibly", "maybe", or "under the best circumstances when all people involved place morality over their own personal and collective best interests, despite explicitly stating that they can and will do otherwise"?

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

You are trying to take way more from what I said than exactly what I said. It's not a puzzle. I don't need you to extrapolate my intentions.

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

You're right. You said "I don't see", which might actually be true. It's much more likely that you are wearing a blindfold than it is for major corporations to not be gathering as much data as possible at every opportunity.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I did not say they are not collecting anything. Mozilla, on the other hand, puts this forth as a fact, as far as I can tell, without any evidence:

global car brands...are collecting your deeply personal data, like your genetic information and sexual activity.

I don't see why collecting data about your sexual activity or genetic information would benefit them.

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Direct advertising and predictive analytics, same for literally every other minute piece of data that's being collected on you. What makes you think sex or genes are off the table?

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

I don't see why collecting data about your sexual activity or genetic information would benefit them.

Nor do I see how they would collect that info

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Guess that's why you're not making the big bucks.

[-] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

What makes you think I'm not?

[-] Amazed@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I can tell this matters, but you’re being unnecessarily antagonistic about this to a total stranger.

[-] PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago

Dr. Toyota: How 'bout no! ;)

[-] Limitless_screaming@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

These posts look like they are making fun of Mozilla at first glance, Like: "Privacy not included" -Mozilla

this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2023
367 points (99.5% liked)

Privacy Guides

16263 readers
5 users here now

In the digital age, protecting your personal information might seem like an impossible task. We’re here to help.

This is a community for sharing news about privacy, posting information about cool privacy tools and services, and getting advice about your privacy journey.


You can subscribe to this community from any Kbin or Lemmy instance:

Learn more...


Check out our website at privacyguides.org before asking your questions here. We've tried answering the common questions and recommendations there!

Want to get involved? The website is open-source on GitHub, and your help would be appreciated!


This community is the "official" Privacy Guides community on Lemmy, which can be verified here. Other "Privacy Guides" communities on other Lemmy servers are not moderated by this team or associated with the website.


Moderation Rules:

  1. We prefer posting about open-source software whenever possible.
  2. This is not the place for self-promotion if you are not listed on privacyguides.org. If you want to be listed, make a suggestion on our forum first.
  3. No soliciting engagement: Don't ask for upvotes, follows, etc.
  4. Surveys, Fundraising, and Petitions must be pre-approved by the mod team.
  5. Be civil, no violence, hate speech. Assume people here are posting in good faith.
  6. Don't repost topics which have already been covered here.
  7. News posts must be related to privacy and security, and your post title must match the article headline exactly. Do not editorialize titles, you can post your opinions in the post body or a comment.
  8. Memes/images/video posts that could be summarized as text explanations should not be posted. Infographics and conference talks from reputable sources are acceptable.
  9. No help vampires: This is not a tech support subreddit, don't abuse our community's willingness to help. Questions related to privacy, security or privacy/security related software and their configurations are acceptable.
  10. No misinformation: Extraordinary claims must be matched with evidence.
  11. Do not post about VPNs or cryptocurrencies which are not listed on privacyguides.org. See Rule 2 for info on adding new recommendations to the website.
  12. General guides or software lists are not permitted. Original sources and research about specific topics are allowed as long as they are high quality and factual. We are not providing a platform for poorly-vetted, out-of-date or conflicting recommendations.

Additional Resources:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS