A 2023 Mozilla Foundation review, as reported by Carsales, examined privacy policies from 25 popular car brands and found that many policies allowed vehicle data to be shared or sold. The findings describe what the reviewed brands’ policies permitted—not proof that every brand made those disclosures, or that every new car collects the same data.
What did the review find?
Carsales reported that Mozilla’s 2023 review covered 25 car brands, including Toyota, Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Subaru and Volkswagen. According to that account, Mozilla concluded that every reviewed brand collected more personal data than needed to operate the vehicle and manage the customer relationship, and used it for other purposes.
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Carsales reported two headline figures for the policies Mozilla reviewed:
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- 84% allowed sharing vehicle data. The report scoped this finding at least to the United States.
- 76% allowed selling vehicle data to third parties. This finding was also scoped at least to the United States.
The article also said that more than half of the reviewed brands could provide information to government or law-enforcement agencies when requested. That describes policy language as reported by Carsales; it does not establish that every request leads to disclosure, or settle what legal requirements apply in a particular case.
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These figures are policy-based findings relayed secondhand by Carsales, not measurements of actual transfers. They do not show that every covered company shared or sold data in every instance, apply automatically outside the stated U.S. context, or establish the practices of every vehicle now on sale. Carsales also attributed to Mozilla the assessment that cars were “the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy”; without the primary study available to verify the wording, it is better to treat that as a reported characterization than as an independently checked quotation.
What data can a connected car involve?
A connected car is part of a data system, not just a vehicle sending information directly to its manufacturer. Depending on the connected features and services involved, data may be generated or collected by the vehicle or an associated service, transmitted to an automaker, or handled by vendors and other entities. A general explanation of connected-car data flows describes this broader ecosystem, but does not establish the practices of any particular make or model.
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It helps to separate three questions that privacy notices can blur together:
- What is collected? What information does the vehicle or service generate, gather or receive?
- Who receives it? Does it remain with the automaker, or can vendors or other parties receive it?
- What may they do with it? Does the notice permit use, sharing or sale, and under what terms?
Collection, sharing and sale are different actions. A policy that permits a disclosure does not, on its own, demonstrate that a specific transfer occurred.
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What does this mean for your car?
The review is a reason to read the privacy terms for the specific vehicle and connected services you use, not a vehicle-by-vehicle verdict. The reported sample does not establish what a particular make, model, model year, country or service does. Policies and connected features may also differ across those circumstances.
- Identify the relevant notices. Check the automaker’s privacy notice and any separate terms for connected services, mobile apps or in-car features you use.
- Look for the three distinct issues. Find what data is collected, which parties can receive it, and whether the policy permits sharing or sale. Note the geographic scope and any stated exceptions.
- Check available controls. If you want to limit a data flow, look for privacy, connected-service or data-sharing settings in the vehicle, app or account, and check the notice for applicable opt-out choices. Availability varies; do not assume a control exists or covers every data use.
- Ask for vehicle-specific evidence. If a policy is unclear, ask the automaker which data practices apply to your vehicle’s model year, location and enabled services. A general brand-level statistic cannot answer that question.
Carsales mentioned Privacy4Cars’ Vehicle Privacy Report as a possible resource for investigating a vehicle. The information available here does not establish the service’s current availability, geographic coverage or the evidence it uses, so treat it as a lead to evaluate rather than a verified answer about a particular car.
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