“We know that trust is earned.”
— Kristin Jones, Ford’s chief privacy officerTech
Ford promises not to sell your driving habits to data brokers
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Published 11/2/2026 1:05:46 PM
Ford promises not to sell your driving habits to data brokers
Following GM’s $220 million settlement, Ford promises to never sell customer driving data to data brokers, attempting to set itself apart in an industry rife with tracking.
Following GM’s $220 million settlement, Ford promises to never sell customer driving data to data brokers, attempting to set itself apart in an industry rife with tracking.
Ford vowed to never sell customer driving data to third-party data brokers as part of a new privacy promise aimed at setting the automaker apart from competitors that have faced legal and regulatory blowback for sharing telematics with data brokers without authorization.
As part of its new promise, Ford says it will strive to protect customer data by using aggregating and anonymizing techniques. It will also “provide clear and easy-to-understand information about how we use your personal information.” And while Ford says it will still use data to improve safety, it will allow customers to adjust how much or how little data they would prefer to share.
In making an explicit pledge not to sell customer data to outside firms, Ford is trying to position itself as one of the better actors in an industry rife with shady practices. “We know that trust is earned,” Kristin Jones, chief privacy officer at Ford, writes in a blog post. “Protecting your personal information is one way we intend to earn it every day.”
The promise comes in the wake of General Motors agreeing to pay $220 million to settle claims that it illegally sold driver and location information to data brokers. The agreement requires GM to limit the driving data it collects and obtain “express consent” from drivers before collecting their information.
Other automakers have been caught with their hands in the customer data cookie jar. A recent examination of 21 vehicle brands found that every single one transmitted data to at least one third-party domain over Wi-Fi. Over half contacted domains that specialize in advertising, tracking, or analytics (ATA), like Adobe, LexisNexis, and Amplitude, which gather details about your vehicle or driving behavior to sell to insurance companies or target you with ads.
In a recent report, Mozilla crowned modern connected cars “the worst category of products for privacy” ever reviewed. The global nonprofit found that 92 percent of the reviewed automakers provide drivers with little (if any) control over their personal data, with 84 percent sharing user data with outside parties.
Ford said it surveyed over 1,000 US customers, both Ford and non-Ford owners, who agreed that privacy is a top concern while over half of the respondents said they understand that some data sharing is okay. Forty-one percent said they were extremely or very concerned about data privacy in the auto industry, which was less than other groups like social media companies, the government, and financial institutions.
To be sure, Ford’s promise isn’t just words on a screen. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission stops companies from misleading the public through deceptive claims. If Ford publicly promises something like, “We never sell your driving data to brokers” but breaks that promise, the FTC and state attorneys general can step in. They can sue Ford, force the company to sign legally binding agreements to correct the issue, and impose substantial financial fines.
It should be noted that a company’s blog post or public promise is not a legal contract. The actual rules that apply to you are found in Ford’s official privacy policy and connected vehicle terms. Those legal agreements contain standard exceptions that allow Ford to share your data, such as complying with police requests or working with outside service providers. Also, opting out of data sharing does come with tradeoffs. While Ford states that data collection depends on the features you want to use, turning off vehicle tracking or location sharing often disables key features like built-in navigation, remote start, and wireless software updates.
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Toyota will assemble Waymo-equipped bZ4X electric SUVs directly on its factory line in Japan ahead of planned robotaxi rollouts in Tokyo and the UK.
Toyota will assemble Waymo-equipped bZ4X electric SUVs directly on its factory line in Japan ahead of planned robotaxi rollouts in Tokyo and the UK.
Waymo announced today that it will use Toyota bZ4X electric vehicles that are assembled in Japan for a robotaxi service in Tokyo. The news builds on the strategic partnership between Waymo and Toyota which was first announced in April 2025.
The robotaxis will be built entirely under one roof at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Instead of building regular cars and modifying them later, the factory will install Waymo’s self-driving sensors and computers right on the assembly line as each car is made.
A team-up between the world’s largest automaker and the world’s leader in autonomous driving obviously has huge implications. Currently, Waymo uses two vehicle models on the road today — the Jaguar I-Pace and Ojai based on the Zeekr RT — with a third based on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 set to deploy soon. By adding the bZ4X, Waymo is attempting to prove that its autonomous driving technology is compatible with a wide range of vehicle types. Waymo has long positioned itself as a software and systems supplier — the “Waymo Driver” — rather than an automaker.
A team-up between the world’s largest automaker and the world’s leader in autonomous driving obviously has huge implications
This also represents a shift in terms of how Waymo acquires and modifies the vehicles that end up in its fleet. Up until now, the company was doing things the hard way by buying a finished car from a factory, shipping it to a separate facility, and retrofitting it with sensors, computers, and extra wiring. The decision to build the sensor suite and compute into the bZ4X on Toyota’s own assembly line could help eliminate redundant labor, bespoke brackets, and secondary shipping — and possibly bring down costs for Waymo.
Waymo says it will begin initial testing and validation in Japan starting next year. Following that, the new vehicles will roll out to the United Kingdom, in addition to other international markets, for robotaxi operations.
Waymo also says it is continuing to explore integrating its technology into Toyota vehicles for personally owned autonomous vehicles. And the company is working with Woven by Toyota, the automaker’s software and mobility spinout, to use Waymo’s operational and safety telemetry to improve road safety across general vehicle fleets and traffic infrastructure.
