Tesla was the worst offender, while Nissan came second and was singled out for collecting the "creepiest categories" of data, including sexual activity. Kia's privacy policy also mentions that the company may collect data about a user's "sex life".
In a blog post on Wednesday, Mozilla noted, "Modern cars are a privacy nightmare. Car makers have been bragging about their cars being “computers on wheels" for years… However, the conversation about what driving a computer means for its occupants' privacy hasn’t really caught up" "While we worried that our doorbells and watches that connect to the internet might be spying on us, car brands quietly entered the data business by turning their vehicles into powerful data-gobbling machines," the company added.
The study found that 84% of the automakers surveyed can share users' personal data with service providers, data brokers and other companies. In addition, 19 or 76% of the automakers surveyed say they can also sell users' personal data.
In addition, 56% of the companies surveyed can also share user data with government or law enforcement agencies in response to a 'request'. The study also found that 23 of the 25 companies surveyed give users little or no control over their personal data.
Meanwhile, only Renault and its sister brand Dacia give users the right to have their personal data deleted. (With inputs from Reuters)
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