How much is Ford spying on us?

[PNGento]

I came across the below in an email. I am not a fan of "big brother" and would hate to think that Ford could be monitoring my, or anyone's, driving habits...especially if it is shared with anyone outside of Ford. Is there any way to opt out of such monitoring? Anyway, here is what was in the email: "

Techy narc cars are sharing driver behavior with insurers — and catapulting premiums

Oops, all spies… Car-tech advances have ushered in an era of heated steering wheels and dashboard Spotify apps — and perhaps a privacy nightmare. A report from The New York Times said that major automakers including GM , Honda , and Ford harvest detailed driver data (think: speeding, hard braking, phone distraction) and share it with data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk, which then sell the data to insurers. The process is spiking drivers’ insurance premiums, often without their knowing why.

Brake check: Some drivers’ premiums spiked by as much as 21% (half the average jump after an at-fault accident) once their insurer got their “risk score.” Some drivers who questioned their rates were sent personalized reports that ran over a hundred pages long. Self-inflicted: Several major automakers offer connected services that enable customers to track their driving habits (like GM’s “Smart Driver”). By opting in to the gamified service, drivers consent to their data being sent to insurers. Backseat brother: The harvesting of drivers’ data is its own industry (aka “automotive telematics”), and it’s set to reach $16B by the end of the decade. The data’s valuable to insurers and law enforcement (it’s been used to solve crimes).

Insurers are doin’ donuts… After raking in $19B in profits in 2020 — as cars stayed in garages and payouts plunged — auto insurers like State Farm and Progressive are still pumping premiums. US rates are up 26% so far this year, after the top 10 US auto insurers all won regulatory approval to significantly boost premiums. Economists say that rising car-insurance prices are pushing up inflation, which last month came in a little spicier than expected."

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[HDT05]

Have a look at the terms and conditions of the Ford App and what it does.... you'd be surprised....

 

[Graygoose2021]

No more than my phone...

 

[EL5_Zero]

Now the question is, how can this surveillance be deactivated. Where in the vehicle is the module that sends out the updates? I suspect that pairing your phone to the vehicle is what enables the reports to be sent out. Could using Forscan disable this feature?

 

[powerboatr]

My insurance company uses an app that tracks your general driving.. rabbit take offs, hard stops
Diddling with your phone while driving
10 over posted limit for more than 10 minutes
You get a score at end of each trip
Been using it now 2 weeks


So far my 3k dollar 6 month policy for 4 vehicles snd 3 drivers has not gone down????????
However on days I plan to commit crimes, I leave phone at home and disable sync
??

Seriously.

We are watched every where.
Have fun with it

Borrow your friends phone, go to Google and search hookers, or the like
Close browser

And just wait until they start freaking out from ads?

 

[Old Hat]

It would not be in the Insurance company's financial interest to penalize safe drivers, we make them money! It's a very competitive industry and we can easily shop elsewhere. Only the riskiest drivers will be penalized, as well they should be.

After allowing an insurance company OBD plug in to monitor both of our vehicles for a period many years ago my wife and I did receive a discount. With modern vehicles the plug in is no longer needed. Yay! Let the risky drivers pay their fair share.

 

[tbinmd]

Now the question is, how can this surveillance be deactivated. Where in the vehicle is the module that sends out the updates? I suspect that pairing your phone to the vehicle is what enables the reports to be sent out. Could using Forscan disable this feature?

settings are in sync to turn off.

Settings -> Connected Vehicle connectivity

 

[tbinmd]

You can also goto Lexisnexis and pull your consumer disclosure report. It's free. You can request the report once a year. They will send you everything they have collected on you. People with GM vehicles have gotten 200+ page reports because all the vehicle activity being reported.


https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/consumer

 

[EL5_Zero]

Thank you! Glad there is an option to turn off those settings.

settings are in sync to turn off.

Settings -> Connected Vehicle connectivity

 

[Jerome10]

I've turned off everything in Sync except 2 options that still enable the Ford App to communicate with the truck.

If I remember I'll get a pic and share what I've got on/off....

 

[Chili]

settings are in sync to turn off.

Settings -> Connected Vehicle connectivity

Maybe someone can expand more on what all these are...lol

 

[sbi]

settings are in sync to turn off.

Settings -> Connected Vehicle connectivity

AFAIK, disabling the Data share also disables some of the SYNC functionality, or it could be the vehicle location.

 

[HANCOCK]

to do this you have to remove your phone from the truck fordpass . So to do that you have to reset it back to factory Setting. In your truck so it disconnect the phone from your truck

 

[tbinmd]

to do this you have to remove your phone from the truck fordpass . So to do that you have to reset it back to factory Setting. In your truck so it disconnect the phone from your truck

No, the tracking has nothing to do with your phone, it's built into sync if it is enabled.

 

[Dakar09]

While "safe" driver's benefit from this, they will use it far more often to penalize people and raise rates. Every insurance company is charging more these days. Think about scenarios where you have to react to another driver and slam on the brakes or accelerate to avoid someone doing something stupid...there goes your rates. The systems don't know if you're driving like that on purpose or defensively. Good luck arguing why you had a few episodes of rapid acceleration or slamming on the brakes, even with a dash cam. The other thing that concerns me is the driverless system Ford is trying to include on all of their vehicles (Bluecruise Equipped). There are cameras that watch you all the time if you choose to utilize the system. Who's to say they aren't watching all the time anyway? I actually asked the dealer to exclude that option on my 2024 build, but I don't think they can.

I also don't like being told how to drive my vehicles. There is no reason to share "Driving Analytics" or anything not essential to the function of the vehicle, imo.

That said, all of these nannies are turned off on all of my cars.

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