Want more privacy in your car? Go back to the '80s
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Ford says drivers who don't want their cars collecting and sharing personal information can go "full '80s mode" by turning off connectivity altogether.
Why it matters: Earning consumers' trust on data privacy is becoming critical for automakers racing to turn vehicles into intelligent personal assistants, prompting new assurances that customers' personal information is safe.
The big picture: Automakers are beginning to offer more granular privacy controls.
- But there's a trade-off: Keeping more of your personal life to yourself could mean giving up some of the high-tech features you paid for.
- The trick is deciding which features are worth the exposure.
Between the lines: Turning off connectivity could mean losing access to location-based features like Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving or the ability to find your car in a crowded parking lot.
- GM's coming OnStar AI assistant could automatically navigate to your next appointment — but only if you give it access to your calendar.
- "If you don't want to share that data, that's fine as well, and we'll provide you the best experience that we can with the data that we have," Michael Wahlstrom, GM's executive director of software product management, told Axios.
💭 My thought bubble: I tried adjusting the privacy settings in my husband's 2025 Ford Maverick — which doesn't even have advanced AI features or Blue Cruise — but then had second thoughts.
- "All services that need vehicle data will not work," the screen said.
- Maybe it's important to share vehicle diagnostics with Ford in case the car needs maintenance, right?
Reality check: Most people aren't going to bother clicking through their vehicle settings to toggle switches on and off.
- If they're like me, they hit "accept" to whatever's on the screen and drive off because they're running late.
- Even if they did try to control their vehicle's privacy settings, those choices don't control information collected by third-party apps and services downloaded into the car.
The bottom line: Privacy is a monster that's hard to control.
- The challenge is deciding how much of your personal life you're willing to share in exchange for modern conveniences.
