1 in 2 drivers worry about car data privacy

More than half of all drivers worry about what data is collected from their cars, and by whom. That’s the main takeaway of a LeasePlan study released today. 

Conducted annually by LeasePlan and global research firm Ipsos, the Mobility Monitor is an opinion survey of over 4,000 drivers in 16 different countries (15 in Europe, plus the US). Here are the most remarkable findings from the Car Data and Privacy section of this year’s edition:

Car data anxiety

• 53% of respondents are worried about who owns the data collected from their vehicle.
• 52% are worried about personal data left in cars after they’re returned or sold.
• 49% are worried about their data being shared with third parties. 

Willingness to share

• 70% of respondents are willing to share data if it helps reduce traffic congestion and journey times.
• An equally large majority (70%) is willing to share data if it helps reduce fuel and maintenance costs. 
• 68% is prepared to share data if it helps reduce vehicle emissions. 
• 66% wants to share data if it improves car performance.

Data anonymity

• Data anonymity is key to acceptance. In all the cases mentioned above, nearly half of respondents were only willing to share car data if it was done anonymously. 

Driver consent
Vehicle data can deliver big wins in terms of safety and sustainability, “but that data needs to be collected with the consent of the driver,” says Tex Gunning, LeasePlan’s CEO. 

In order to achieve transparency, “the auto industry needs to step up and make it much easier for drivers to understand what data is collected, and for which purpose.” Gunning also favours an opt-out solution, allowing drivers to delete their personal data. 

Black box
LeasePlan opposes a future in which car data ends up in a ‘black box’ controlled only by the OEMs, Gunning argues: “We can only ensure that everyone shares in the benefits of smart mobility if we create a ‘neutral server’ for car data.”

“Such a neutral server would aggregate car data anonymously and give drivers much more control over what data is shared, preventing any one company from having a data monopoly.” That solution would require the neutral server to be financed and supervised by an independent authority, LeasePlan says.