Mozilla Foundation suggests your car could be listening to your conversations

Privacy Not Included is a consumer’s manual helmed by the Mozilla Foundation. It appraises privacy and security of gadgets and other electronic commodities. It recently produced a report underlining lapses by car manufacturers across the U.S.A, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea with respect to privacy and security. 

They identified potential risks with respect to collection of information regarding sexual activity, medical diagnosis and genetics. Consumer behaviour is also tracked through the data and subsequently sold to parties interested in the same. Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota, Kia and Mercedes Benz were some of the companies identified through the research.

 “Many people think of their car as a private space, somewhere to call your doctor, have a personal conversation with your kid on the way to school, cry your eyes out over a break-up, or drive places you might not want the world to know about. But that perception no longer matches reality. All new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information,"Jen Caltrider, PNI (Privacy Not Included) Program Director mentioned in relation to the findings of the study. 

“This isn’t the first time Mozilla has uncovered an industry with terrible privacy practices. But cars are unique, their privacy flaws impact not just the driver, but also passengers and sometimes even nearby pedestrians. They can hear you, see you, and track you. Today, sitting in someone’s car is a lot like handing your phone over to the auto manufacturer," Misha Rykov, PNI Researcher stated.