Are Nissan and Kia interested in drivers' porn kinks, Tinder dating history?

It seems that Nissan and Kia, two of the world’s largest automakers, who take pride in being at the forefront of smart cars or connected cars, are very interested in how their customers get their rocks off, among other things.

A recent study by the internet privacy watchdog The Mozilla Foundation, the people behind the Mozilla Firefox browser, on smart cars or connected cars from 25 brands found that most connected cars collect an astonishing amount of data from their users, and then sell it to third-party advertisers and marketing agencies.

Not just Kia and Nissan, several others are collecting data
Mozilla conducted a comprehensive study covering 25 major car brands, including Volkswagen, Kia, Renault, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and others. The study revealed that all of these brands extensively collect data from their vehicles.

Even luxury automakers like Mercedes and BMW were found to employ similar lax privacy practices as more budget-friendly brands. Mozilla’s research involved more than 600 hours of reviewing the privacy policies of these car manufacturers.

“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,” the report read.

Car makers collect and sell more data than smartphone makers
In its report, Mozilla expressed concerns about the privacy implications of modern cars, referring to them as a “privacy nightmare.”

While the public has been wary of smart devices like cellphones, smartwatches and now smart doorbells as well, connecting to the internet and potentially spying on users, car brands have quietly ventured into the data business, essentially transforming their vehicles into robust data-harvesting machines.

Mozilla’s report went on to state that “All 25 car brands we researched earned our Privacy Not Included warning label,” making cars the worst category of products for privacy that they have ever assessed.

The study further says that about 84 per cent of car brands openly acknowledge sharing your data with service providers, data brokers, and various other businesses, all without your knowledge.

Even more concerning is that 76 per cent of these car companies have explicitly stated that they have the capability to sell your personal data.

Additionally, 56 per cent of them assert the authority to share your information with government agencies or law enforcement upon a simple “request.”

Importantly, this request does not necessarily require a stringent court order; in the case of Hyundai, it could be as informal as a mere “request.”

Nissan and Kia the worst offenders
The privacy policies of certain car brands were so heavily geared toward data collection that Mozilla specifically called them out in the report summary. For instance, Mozilla noted that Nissan earned one of the lowest rankings for collecting some of the most intrusive categories of data they have encountered, including data related to “sexual activity.”

“Nissam come right out and say they can collect and share your sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic information and other sensitive personal information for targeted marketing purposes,” the foundation wrote.

The Japanese company has disclosed that it gathers drivers’ “sensitive personal information,” which encompasses a broad range of data, including driver’s license numbers, national or state identification numbers, citizenship status, immigration status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, details about sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnosis data, and genetic information.

Similarly, Kia’s privacy policy also indicated that they could collect information about your “sex life.” Kia has openly stated in its terms and conditions in the US that it acquires “sensitive personal information” from individuals. This information encompasses categories such as “racial or ethnic origin,” “religious or philosophical beliefs,” “health-related details, information about one’s sex life or sexual orientation,” and “genetic data.”

Now, the report from Mozilla refers to cars from the US, so it wouldn’t be fair to paint the global divisions with the same brush. As for India and whether data is being collected by car manufacturers, all we will say is that India has some of the most lax data regulations. With the new Digital Personal Data Protection bill coming into play soon, brands and advertisers will have to think twice before they indulge in any such practice.