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Rest Assured, BMW Won’t Sell Your Private Connected Car Data

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Customers connected to their BMWs won’t have to worry about the brand selling their information

Score one for privacy!

According to a BMW representative at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, the automaker refuses to sell its customers’ personal information to third parties who are begging to access their connected car data. It’s about time somebody took a stand.

BMW Drivers’ Connected Car Data Will Remain Confidential

As a customer of BMW, your data privacy is a priority to the automaker. According to Ian Robertson, head of BMW sales and marketing, instead of selling out to make a buck (like so many social media sites gladly do these days), BMW values its customers’ security.

“There’s plenty of people out there saying: ‘Give us all the data you’ve got and we can tell you what we can do with it,’” Robertson explained to the The Financial Times.

So, what are ad and tech companies looking to do with this information?

Robertson gave an example based on inquiries BMW had already received. According to him, groups would ask, “We’d like to know that data because then we will know whether it’s an adult or a child sitting in the car.” Or, “If you also tell us how long the engine’s been running, then we know…from the navigation system, they’re about to pass a McDonald’s, the car’s been running for three hours, and the child’s probably hungry.”

Tracking and storage of such telematics information was originally intended to benefit customers, but as connected car technology develops and autonomous vehicles come around, everyone wants to get a piece of vehicle drivers’ pies. From local authorities and tech companies, to retail and food companies. The sharing of digital data privacy–apart from current location and speed for emergency reasons–is becoming a hot-button issue.

Hopefully BMW’s whistle-blowing and customer loyalty will be an example to other automakers who might consider exploiting their customers’ information for financial gain.

News Source: Computeworld UK