"What's a computer?" Apple asked that question to the world in 2017 in an ad promoting its new iPad Pro and iOS 11 operating system. The tech giant suggested that its new products marked the beginning of a post-computer world. Most viewers brushed it off as a silly idea, especially when the iPad’s software was still so horrendously inadequate. These days, though, that question is more relevant than ever—especially when it comes to your cars.
The line between what is and what isn't a computer is pretty clear on the surface. If it has a screen and a keyboard, it’s a computer. But the underlying technology that powers them has seeped into an assortment of products you may not even know about—like your vehicles—which muddies up the software-laden waters.
Granted, today's vehicles might not have a keyboard and a mouse, but they have screens, processors, RAM, hard drives, GPUs, an operating system, apps, and internet connectivity. And just like your phone, laptop, fridge, or internet-connected toaster, your new car can collect an assortment of data points that are sent straight back to the manufacturer.
And they’re using that data to keep tabs on you.
Take BMW, for example. In September, BMW's senior vice president of UI/UX development, Stephan Durach, casually admitted that the company has data from over 10 million vehicles. In this case, Durach said that the data was used to "see what our customers are doing" in relation to the infotainment system and in-car controls.
While that type of data gathering may seem harmless on the surface, and in today’s age of ongoing privacy concerns, it shouldn't come as a shock; it still serves as a bleak reminder. It was just over two years ago that the Mozilla Foundation revealed just how much data modern cars collect, and reading automakers' privacy policies is like trudging through a series of dystopian novels where you're the main character.
Depending on the brand, car companies could be scooping up your precise GPS location, direction of travel, vehicle vitals, incident data, and so much more. Ford's privacy disclosure says its cars with connectivity could transmit "Vehicle Data, Driving Data, Vehicle Location, Audio/Visual, Media Analytics, and Vehicle analytics."
That could include your speed, accelerator, brake, and steering use, your vehicle's "precise latitude and longitude," "Images from forward-facing or interior-facing cameras," what you listen to, and what apps, services, and features you prefer. Ford collects a lot of this data for research and development purposes. More troublingly, though, it also allows Ford to protect its own interests.
Depending on the brand, car companies could be scooping up your precise GPS location, direction of travel, vehicle vitals, incident data, and so much more.
Ford's policy notes that the company may still collect your vehicle's location despite your preferences. The Blue Oval does this "to protect and defend our rights or property (including repossessing a vehicle in the event of a delinquency) or to comply with applicable law...."
It's no wonder Ford showed interest in designing the technology for a self-repossessing car that can lock owners out of their own vehicles when they fall behind on payments—and then drive itself back to the automaker.
BMW's privacy disclosure for its connected cars is just as broad about collecting data on how you interact with its software. That gives the automaker the ability to analyze your data and use it for research in order to enhance the ownership experience, improve safety, or, in the case of Durach's comment, decide which buttons to keep in its cars.
Hyundai also collects your information when you drive a vehicle equipped with Bluelink. The automaker could collect performance and driving data, the car's precise geolocation, your biometric information, and "other sensitive information" generated by your vehicle. And like Ford and BMW, Hyundai could use that data to improve its cars—or sell it for pennies.
Modern cars are the perfect surveillance machines that not only record everything we do, but, with the plethora of cameras and sensors on the outside, can capture what everyone else is doing, too. A car is able to collect hundreds of gigabytes worth of info in a single day. Data you may not even know is being collected.
And automakers are analyzing it, watching what you do, what buttons you press, which features you use—and which ones you don't. It might keep buttons in cars, sure, but it also gives automakers insights on how to monetize the experience further, putting up paywalls for amenities that were once included with the purchase of a new vehicle.
While Apple failed to predict that the world would redefine the word "computer," cars have changed quite a bit. They're more personal than a computer ever can be, and they can now provide others with an intimate look into their owners' lives.
Cars aren't just turning into computers—they're becoming something far more sinister and invasive.
