Ford Promises Not to Sell Your Driving Data as GM Pays $220 Million to Settle Claims It Did Just That

Ford seems to be taking a lesson from rival General Motors, which recently faced legal trouble over how it handled customers’ driving data. The automaker announced Monday a new initiative it’s calling the Ford Privacy Promise, which aims to give customers more transparency and control over the data collected by its increasingly connected vehicles. As part of the initiative, Ford is promising not to sell information about how customers drive their vehicles to data brokers or insurance companies. The announcement comes just days after GM agreed to pay $220 million to settle allegations brought by a coalition of 36 attorneys general that it illegally sold drivers’ personal information to third parties. According to the attorneys general, GM sold driving behavior and location data to data brokers, which then sold the information to insurance companies. The lawsuit alleged that GM enrolled millions of drivers in its Smart Driver program between 2016 and 2024. The program tracked drivers’ habits and was marketed as a tool to help them improve their driving safety. GM also told drivers their information would not be shared with insurers without their consent. But according to a New York Times investigation, information about how often people drove, how frequently they braked or accelerated quickly, and whether they exceeded speed limits ended up in the hands of insurance companies, which in some cases used it to help determine customers’ rates. “This agreement addresses Smart Driver, a product we ended in 2024, and reinforces steps we’ve taken to strengthen our privacy practices,” a GM spokesperson told Gizmodo in an emailed statement. “Safer, more helpful and personalized experiences are enabled by connected vehicle data, and GM is committed to being clear about what information is used, how it’s protected, and the choices customers have about what they share.” The timing of Ford’s announcement feels like more than just a coincidence, but the company isn’t linking it directly to GM’s recent legal troubles. “I wouldn’t comment on what our competitors are doing, or anything that’s sort of been in the news there, but certainly it’s something that people don’t trust companies to take care with their data, and we really want to make sure we’re building that trust relationship with them,” Ford Chief Privacy Officer Kristin Jones told TechCrunch. In its announcement, Ford said it surveyed just over 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that 91% considered data privacy as highly important. Still, 56% of respondents said they valued privacy but were willing to share some data in exchange for certain vehicle features. Ford says customers can choose not to share any connected vehicle data with the company. However, doing so would make some features unavailable, including internet connectivity, its BlueCruise hands-free driving system, and vehicle location tracking through the Ford app. The company also launched a new website explaining what data its vehicles collect, how that information is used, and how customers can adjust their privacy settings. Those controls have been available for years, but Ford says it wants to make them easier for drivers to understand and use. Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.