One in three used car buyers say they have purchased an engine that still had the previous owner’s personal data stored on it.
Most modern models are equipped with infotainment systems that can be linked to the owner’s smartphone and allow them to enter their home address into the satnav, as well as other private details.
But despite this, many drivers forget to delete this information from the vehicle before selling it.
Carwow says this has the potential to be a data privacy issue in the future for dealers who sell used engines.
Since car owners often do not perform a factory reset on their vehicle’s infotainment system before selling it, many are inadvertently giving away their personal data.
The survey of nearly 1,000 customers who had purchased a used vehicle through Carwow’s online platform found that 33 percent had found personal data of one or more former owners stored in the vehicle’s infotainment system.
This includes information about the person, as well as phone numbers of all the people in their contact list, which can be stored in a vehicle when drivers pair their smartphone with the vehicle.
The increased availability of apps in cars also means that data can be stored there and, in some cases, people can leave their accounts open for others to access paid services and private information that can be accessed through a application.
While many might expect that a private sale would have forgotten to clear the system history or perform a factory reset, more than four in five motorists believed that a dealer selling a vehicle would be responsible for removing this information from a vehicle in your service station.
About 83 percent of respondents said they would expect the dealer to delete personal data on a car they had advertised.
Under current regulations, “personal data” is any data that allows someone to be identified, such as a home address, email address or telephone number.
If dealers don’t remove this information from the car they’re selling, there’s a chance there could be a data privacy issue for dealers, says Gaurav Jain, chief commercial officer at Carwow.
The survey found that 33% of customers who purchased a used vehicle through Carwow’s online platform found personal data of one or more former owners stored in the car’s infotainment system.
Under current regulations, “personal data” is any data that allows someone to be identified, such as an email address, telephone number or home address stored in a satellite navigation system.
“It may be unclear whether the responsibility for deleting user information from a vehicle upon change of ownership lies with the first owner, the manufacturer or the dealer,” Jain told This is Money.
“The allocation of responsibility could be influenced by which of these entities could be considered the ‘controller’ of the data under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) laws.”
Carwow is calling for greater clarity from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the issue.
The ICO is responsible for outlining data protection laws. It also defends information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and the privacy of people’s data.
“We advise all car sellers to remove any personal data from the vehicle before handing it over, including from any built-in apps,” Jain added.
“In addition, dealers should safeguard their own interests, as well as those of their customers, by taking reasonable steps to delete data themselves before handing over the keys to a new owner.”
The increased availability of smartphone-style apps in cars could also be a privacy threat, and in some cases people may leave their accounts open for others to access paid services and content.
A 2020 investigation by consumer watchdog Which? found that more than half (54 percent) of 14,000 drivers surveyed had synced a phone to their car using Bluetooth or connecting via a USB cable.
Pairing a smartphone with a car will mean drivers will be able to play their own music, download their contacts and messages, get live traffic and navigation information, and make hands-free calls or send messages.
While this may be convenient, unless your smartphone is later disconnected, the account is deleted, and the downloaded information is erased, this data could be viewed by the next owner and potentially all subsequent owners if the systems are not erase properly.
But of these drivers, more than half (51 percent) had not tried to unsync their phone before selling it.
More worrying is that almost a third (31 percent) took no action to delete personal information they had shared with their cars, essentially handing over their private data to someone they didn’t know.
Four in five (79 percent) vehicle owners did not follow the car manual’s instructions for deleting data and returning the car to its factory settings before selling it, even though this is the best way to ensure that no personal data remains. The operating system.
Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine, said cars risk becoming “information treasures” and drivers should treat them, like smartphones and tablets, by resetting them to their factory settings before releasing them.
“Manufacturers must do much more to prioritize customers’ personal privacy so that drivers fully understand how much data their vehicle could contain and how to delete this information to eradicate these risks,” Rose added.
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