Ford promises not to sell your driving habits to data brokers

Ford has pledged not to sell customers’ driving data to third-party data brokers, seeking to distinguish itself from automakers criticised for sharing vehicle data without permission. It says it will use aggregated and anonymised data, explain its practices clearly and let customers control how much information they share, while continuing to use data to improve safety.

The pledge follows General Motors’ agreement to pay $220 million to settle claims over the unauthorised sale of drivers’ location and driving information. A review of 21 vehicle brands found that all sent data to at least one third-party domain over Wi-Fi, while Mozilla reported that 84 per cent of the automakers it reviewed shared user data externally. Ford says a survey of more than 1,000 US customers found 41 per cent were very or extremely concerned about privacy in the car industry. The pledge is not itself a legal contract; Ford’s privacy policy and vehicle terms set out the rules and exceptions.