They’re not doing it yet, but this sure shows intent. And pretty much all the manufacturers have been busted selling user data and making it difficult to opt out. And since they control the software, can you really trust them to honor the request?
By Lauren Fix
As carmakers seek to monetize your data, the days of the car as a haven for private conversation may be coming to a close.
Be careful what you say while driving — your car may be listening.
Automaker Ford has recently applied for a patent for what it calls the“In-Vehicle Advertisement Presentation System.”
If this doesn’t anger you, wait till you’re bombarded with texts, messages on your center screen, and more garbage emails.
This technology uses in-car microphones to listen to passengers’ conversations and display targeted advertisements. It can also analyze voice commands and navigation data to serve relevant ads, like promoting local businesses or services.
This is no doubt welcome news for those of us who can’t get enough of billboards — or those of us who’ve always wished our vehicles could invade our privacy as much as our smartphones do.
The Ford patent is just one of the ways automakers are exploring ways to monetize user data — a sign that the days of the automobile as a sanctuary for private conversations are coming to a close.
But the Ford Global Technologies patent is particularly invasive, demonstrating insidious “systems and methods” to bombard you with personalized ads.
Not only would the new technology be able to listen to conversations, it would also capture and analyze data such as vehicle location, speed, and traffic conditions.
The system would also use information on the driver’s destination and location history to predict what kind and what length ads to show them.
Listening to passengers’ conversations would also help the company learn how they react to the ads and the best times to run them through audio and human-machine interface systems installed in the car.
The application also mentions using historical user data and third-party app information to refine ad targeting.
Ford has shrugged off any privacy concerns.
“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” a Ford spokesperson told the Record. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans.”
In other words: We’re not really doing it … and it’s good that we’re doing it.
In a follow-up statement, Ford said it “will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”
The patent application does not offer specifics regarding data-protection measures, likely adding to the unease expressed by privacy advocates.
While such a system would rely heavily on data, the patent doesn’t show the collected data would be protected. Nevertheless, as with many issued patents, the released document doesn’t guarantee that the invention will be implemented in the future.
It also should be noted that auto manufacturers have been found to sell data about drivers’ habits behind the wheel to auto insurance companies, which is then used to set insurance rates. This suggests that they view user data as another revenue stream to market to interested parties other than advertisers.
If this doesn’t anger you, wait till you’re bombarded with texts, messages on your center screen, and more garbage emails.
Ford has filed other patent applications that have raised privacy concerns. One recent example is a patent for “Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations.” We have covered this on our channel.
And another controversial patent, which Ford later abandoned after widespread criticism, proposed a system for repossessing vehicles from owners who had missed payments. The system would either direct self-driving cars to repossession lots or disable standard vehicles by locking their steering wheels, brakes, and air conditioning.
For more on this, see the video below: