Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn is launching the Ford Privacy Promise to make an “explicit commitment to customers that their vehicle data is safe” and they’re in control of what they share.
Ford says it designs and builds its products with privacy in mind — from collection of data to its use, storage, and disposal. This can include privacy-enhancing technologies like anonymizing or aggregating data to further protect a customer’s privacy.
The automaker’s new Privacy Promise website provides education on its privacy practices and how drivers can customize their vehicle data and privacy settings anytime in-vehicle or via the Ford App.
“Even for a tech-savvy consumer, it can be hard to understand the relationship between your vehicle, the data it generates, and your privacy and rights,” says Kristin Jones, chief privacy officer and deputy general counsel for data and privacy at Ford. “With our connected vehicle and app user communities growing every day, Ford takes its responsibility in safeguarding customer data seriously.”
As Ford created the Privacy Promise, it surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers — both Ford and non-Ford owners. It learned that while privacy is important to them, customers understand the value of data sharing. A value survey respondents kept returning to, according to Jones, was control: the ability to adjust their settings on demand and in detail.
As a result, Ford offers vehicle privacy settings that allow customers to control what data they want to share, subject to the features and services they wish to enjoy.
Ford stresses that it never sells data about how customers drive their vehicle to data brokers.
“We know that trust is earned,” Jones says. “Protecting your personal information is one way we intend to earn it every day.”
