From “technocracy.news”
If you own an EV or a “digital car,” you better watch what you say because you might be under total surveillance, and that goes for your passengers as well. What? Your data will be sold, too? Yep. Multiple times to multiple companies. However, there is an easy opt-out fix: “Never buy them, drive them, sit in them, or exist on the street when they drive by.”
This article chronicles Subaru, but the following is taken directly from Subaru’s website:
B. Information We Collect
Within the past twelve (12) months, Subaru has collected the categories of Personal Information listed in the INFORMATION WE COLLECT section above, including:
| Category | Examples / Description |
| Identifiers | A real name, username or alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, vehicle information (such as model and year), vehicle identification number (VIN), vehicle telemetry data, or other similar identifiers. |
| Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) | A name, signature, Social Security number, address, telephone number, driver’s license or state identification card number. Some Personal Information included in this category may overlap with other categories. |
| Commercial information | Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered. |
| Internet or other similar network activity. | Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement. |
| Geolocation data. | Physical location and movements, including from Connected Vehicle Services or Technology Services. |
| Inferences drawn from other Personal Information. | Profile reflecting a person’s preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, or attitudes. |
| Recordings | Audio recordings of Vehicle Occupants. Audio recordings when you call our call centers or a Retailer. |
| Payment information | Credit card information for optional Services, such as Subaru Starlink. |
If you own another model, please read your “Privacy Statement” and report your findings back to Technocracy.news ⁃ TN Editor
People say things in a car they might never write in an email. Well, they used to.
Who knew? The Subaru privacy policy allows them to record your conversations and your face and sell that data to the highest bidder. Most likely (who reads these things), all the other car companies do, too. When an AI analyzes it, presumably, it will identify your voice (and you from the cameras). Anything you say in the public broadcasting world of private cars will belong to them, even if you are a passenger and were never asked.
So if you want to have a private discussion about your political views, your children, your religion, troubles at work, intellectual property, discoveries, information that might affect stock prices, your thoughts on immigration, corruption, or mention any medical issues you have, or affairs anyone you know has had, don’t do it in an electric car. Imagine the blackmail, political, legal, and insider potential with this data in the hands of…
“Subaru“, posted on Foundation Mozilla
Here’s something you might not realize. The moment you sit in the passenger seat of a Subaru that uses connected services, you’ve consented to allow them to use — and maybe even sell — your personal information. According to their privacy policy, that means things like your name, location, “Audio recordings of Vehicle Occupants”, and inferences they can draw about things like your “characteristics, predispositions, behavior, or attitudes.” Call us bonkers, but we don’t think that simply sitting in the passenger seat of someone’s Subaru should mean you consent to having any of your personal information use for, well, pretty much anything at all. Let alone potentially sold to data brokers or shared with third party marketers so they can target you with ads about who knows what based on the the inferences they draw about you because you sat in the back seat of a Subaru in the mountains of Colorado. We’re gonna really call out Subaru for this, because they lay it out so clearly in their privacy policy, but please know, Subaru isn’t the only car company doing this sort of icky thing.
Subaru also admits that when the information is transmitted they cannot guarantee that it will not be intercepted, only that they will do their best to look after your info after they receive it.
To opt out:
It seems the best way to keep Subaru from collecting, sharing, or selling your data to people who want to sell you stuff or data brokers or law enforcement, your best bet is to never buy, drive, or ride in a Subaru. Except if you’re walking on the street when a car with exterior cameras or sensors drives by. Then you might get caught up in that data collection too. So, yeah, the point is, you really don’t have many great choices when it comes to protecting your privacy from connected cars these days, other than to never buy them, drive them, sit in them, or exist on the street when they drive by.