A data privacy survey on personal identifiable information (PII) left on rental vehicle infotainment systems

Privacy leakage in modern lifestyles

In today’s connected world, PII is increasingly vulnerable due to the proliferation of smart devices, connected vehicles, wearable technology, etc. As individuals integrate more of these gadgets into their daily lives, the risks of PII leakage grow. The risks grow due to insufficient stringent privacy controls and the often-overlooked vulnerabilities that reside in these technologies. This section highlights research and some real-world incidents to demonstrate the privacy risks associated with modern digital lifestyle and its evolving ecosystems.

Wearable devices and privacy concerns

Wearable technology, such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and smart glasses, has become an integral part of the modern digital lifestyle. These devices collect and store a wide range of sensitive data, including biometric, location, health, and behavioral patterns, raising significant privacy concerns if mishandled. Studies^[4] suggest that many wearable devices lack strong security mechanisms, making them susceptible to unauthorized access, data breaches, and privacy leakage^[5]. One real-world example is the Strava fitness app incident in 2018^[6], where the app inadvertently exposed the locations of secret military bases through its global heatmap by displaying aggregated GPS data, including soldiers stationed at sensitive locations. This incident emphasized that wearables can unintentionally expose critical information. Another concern arises from the newest innovative idea with the introduction of wearable smart glasses, such as the Ray-Ban Stories developed by Ray-Ban in collaboration with Meta, formerly Facebook, which has raised significant privacy concerns. These glasses come equipped with cameras, microphones, and touch controls, allowing users to capture photos, record videos, and make hands-free calls. While these features enhance user convenience, they also present risks related to unauthorized surveillance and privacy leakage^[7].

Connected vehicle and infotainment systems

Connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and rental cars in the automotive domain also have substantial risks to consumers’ privacy. Specifically, infotainment systems in rental vehicles store personal data, such as phone contact lists, GPS locations, and call logs, without any proper deletion mechanisms. Privacy International^[8] investigated car rental companies, such as Hertz and Europcar, and discovered that personal data from previous renters remain accessible in the vehicle's infotainment system. The personal data included contact lists and location data that could be easily accessed by subsequent renters, presenting serious privacy risks due to the lack of automated data deletion protocols.

Given the increasing reliance on Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled vehicles and integration with personal devices, data left on these systems represents a significant threat to consumer privacy. The fact that personal data often remains after a vehicle has been rented by multiple renters calls for stronger measures in protecting PII, especially in high-turnover environments such as rental services.

Current approaches to privacy protection

In an attempt to address the privacy risks, several methods and tools have been developed to assist renters in managing their data on connected devices. For instance, Privacy4Cars^[9] is an application designed to guide consumers through the erasure of their personal data from vehicle infotainment systems. Nevertheless, our thorough testing of this application revealed that it falls short of an authentic automated solution, instead providing step-by-step manual instructions. While this service is initially offered without cost, it transitions to a paid subscription model after the trial period, which may deter sustained consumer engagement and adherence to data protection protocols. There have been additional measures and workshops conducted by government agencies, i.e., FTC and General Auditors Office (GAO).

For example, the FTC has recognized these emerging threats, especially in connected vehicles, where users unknowingly leave sensitive PII on infotainment systems. To address these challenges, the FTC convened a comprehensive workshop^[10] focusing on mitigating security and privacy risks associated with connected vehicles. This workshop brought together key stakeholders from the automotive industry, government entities, and consumer advocacy groups. The primary outcomes from the workshop centered on three key areas.

(1) Better information sharing: Which suggests the importance of improved collaboration and information exchange between automotive industries, government entities, and other organizations involved in the connected vehicle ecosystem. Sharing insights and knowledge can help address emerging security and privacy challenges.

(2) Enhanced network design: This point underscores the need for developing network designs for vehicles that incorporate additional safeguards to protect consumers’ PII. Strengthening security measures within the vehicle’s network architecture is vital for ensuring data privacy.

(3) Risk assessment and mitigation: The reference to risk assessment and mitigation plans for connected vehicles highlights the importance of proactively identifying past, present, and future vulnerabilities and addressing them through measures such as over-the-air updates. This ongoing process is crucial for maintaining the security and privacy of connected vehicles.

Despite these approaches, the need for fully automated and user-friendly solutions remains critical, particularly in environments where frequent consumer turnover occurs, such as rental vehicles. Government initiatives, external studies^[11], and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)^[12] in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)^[13] in the United States, have attempted to provide frameworks for managing PII. However, these frameworks always lean towards manual processes; challenges in practical enforcement and technology adoption persist.

Responders

The survey was distributed to six hundred participants, with a target response rate of 20%, equivalent to 120 respondents. Out of these, five participants with no prior vehicle rental experience were excluded from the analysis, resulting in 115 participants, as detailed in Table 1. To ensure broad outreach, we deployed the survey across various social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and direct messaging. This strategy aimed to create a comprehensive and diverse respondent pool, laying the foundation for robust analysis while prioritizing respondent convenience.

Demographic information

The survey gathered some essential demographic data, specifically age groups categorized as (1) 18-24; (2) 25-34; (3) 35-44; (4) 45-54; and (5) > 54, along with gender. The survey results revealed notable insights into the theme of survey participants. The most prominent segment of the audience were men over the age of fifty-four, which represents a substantial 21.67%, and in the 35-44 age range, men also accounted for a significant 12.50% of the respondents, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Participants age groups.

Rental history

The survey also aimed to ascertain prior experience of participants with vehicle rentals and their engagement in consumer ride-sharing using their own vehicles through platforms such as Turo. Out of the total of 120 respondents, it was revealed that a substantial majority, 115 participants, had indeed engaged in vehicle rentals before. This is visually represented in Figure 3, which illustrates the widespread familiarity with rental services among the respondents.

Figure 3. Participants who have prior rental experience.

Moreover, within this group of participants, a noteworthy insight emerged. Specifically, two individuals within the sample indicated their involvement in ride-sharing endeavors by utilizing their personal vehicles to serve consumers via applications such as Turo. This compelling detail is visually illustrated in Figure 4, shedding light on the extent to which participants engage in this mode of consumer interaction.

Figure 4. Consumers who utilize personal vehicles for ride sharing.

Among the participants who have previous rental experience, an inquiry was made to ascertain the rental organizations they have utilized. Notably, the data reveals that Enterprise emerged as the predominant choice, as depicted in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Consumers’ rental organizations used.

Furthermore, within the subset of respondents associated with ride-sharing services, both affirmed that they presented copies of the data privacy policies pertaining to the synchronization of mobile devices with vehicles. This suggests their commitment to safeguarding consumer information during such interactions.

Pairing and technology used in rentals

Out of the group with prior rental experience, there were revealing insights into their mobile phone pairing preferences and methods of pairing for those who elected to pair their mobile phones with rental vehicles, as shown in Figure 6. Within this group of participants (60.3%), the consumers expressed the various technologies used to pair with the vehicles. Most consumers use Bluetooth technology due to its short-range capabilities and ability to provide a driver distraction experience^[15].

Figure 6. Consumers who paired and technology used.

Awareness of privacy policies among consumers

(1) A substantial portion, accounting for 51.3% of consumers, reported not being informed about privacy policies during the transaction process, highlighting a notable absence of information.

(2) A further 36.5% of respondents expressed uncertainty regarding their awareness of privacy policies, indicating a lack of clarity in this regard.

(3) A smaller group, constituting 12.2% of participants, confirmed that they were indeed made aware of the privacy policies during the transaction process, marking a comparatively smaller subset.

The findings are nothing short of astounding, shedding light on a critical issue: consumer awareness, or rather, the lack thereof, when it comes to privacy policies. Drawing from firsthand experience in renting vehicles, it becomes evident that vital information is often buried deep within these policies, particularly concerning whose responsibility it is to expunge profiles from infotainment systems before returning a rental vehicle.

What makes this situation even more remarkable is that due to consumers’ unawareness of these policies, a substantial majority fail to take the necessary steps to delete their profiles prior to returning the rental vehicle. Therefore, valuable data remains on these vehicles, as depicted in Figure 8. These findings extensively illustrate the urgent need for greater transparency for the renter and education surrounding privacy policies in the realm of rental vehicles.

Figure 8. Consumer data expunged from rental vehicle.

Data risk and importance to consumers

In our pursuit of a more profound understanding of consumers’ perspectives on the risks linked to sharing personal information through a rental vehicle’s infotainment system, and the importance attached to retaining this data within the system, we have gained valuable insights from the participants. A substantial majority of respondents, precisely 70.5%, indicated a mid to higher perception of risk associated with sharing their personal information, as detailed in Figure 9. This exposes a prevailing awareness of the potential vulnerabilities and concerns related to data security in this context^[16,17].

Figure 9. Consumers’ risk level tolerance is risky at 70.5%.

Furthermore, among the participants who expressed concerns about data security, an overwhelming 87.9% considered their personal information to be significant. This is reflected in their responses, categorizing the data as “important”, “very important”, or “highly important”, as visually presented in Figure 10.

Figure 10. Consumers’ data is extremely important at 87.9%.

These findings underscore the significance of addressing data security and privacy concerns within the realm of rental vehicles, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding personal information, and fostering consumer trust in this technology-driven landscape.

Information not expunged from rental vehicle

Building upon the compelling responses from those who acknowledged a significant level of risk and classified their data as important or higher, we wanted to gain further insights into their willingness to permit data sharing in the event that their information was not deleted. Additionally, we aimed to understand consumers’ knowledge regarding data deletion processes and whether they had ever forgotten to delete their data before returning the rental vehicle to the depot.

The results yielded remarkable findings. An astounding number of 85.2% of consumers expressed their concern about the possibility of their personal information being accessed by another individual, as depicted in Figure 11. This concerning unawareness constitutes a strong commitment to data privacy and a clear reluctance to allow unauthorized access to their information.

Figure 11. Consumers’ awareness of data being shared.

Furthermore, the survey revealed the intriguing observation of a significant majority of consumers admitting to being unfamiliar with the process of how to perform data deletion from a vehicle. However, a notable fraction expressed confidence in their ability to navigate this task, as indicated in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Consumers’ awareness of process to delete data.

These discoveries emphasize the critical importance not only of enhancing data security within rental vehicles but also of providing users with user-friendly tools and guidance for data deletion. The results illustrate the significant responsibility that should be improved upon in the industry to bolster data privacy measures and to empower consumers with the knowledge and means to protect their personal information effectively.

Technology

Based on all the responses thus far for those who are in the process of expunging their data from a rental vehicle, it is notable that a significant portion either do not take action to delete their information or believe they could figure it out. Additionally, 71% of participants admitted to occasionally forgetting to delete their information from the infotainment system before returning the rental vehicle, as evident in Figure 13. This oversight has potential consequences, as it could leave sensitive data accessible to subsequent renters, potentially including location history, addresses, names, and family member details.

Figure 13. Consumers’ overlook deletion process.

Remarkably, the majority of renters in the survey believed that the responsibility for data deletion lies with the rental organization, as depicted in Figure 14. This perception contradicts the fact that data privacy policies within rental organizations place the responsibility on the consumer to perform data deletion prior to return. This misunderstanding and lack of awareness contribute to data being inadvertently left on vehicles, thereby allowing subsequent renters to retrieve potentially sensitive information accessible through the infotainment system.

Figure 14. Consumers perception on who should perform data deletion.

In response to this challenge, it is encouraging to observe that, as depicted in Figure 15, every participant expressed interest in and agreement with the idea of an automated solution to address this issue. This demonstrates collective support and consensus that an automated system would be a viable and effective means of mitigating data privacy risks associated with rental vehicles. It signals a clear desire for streamlined processes that safeguard data and protect consumer privacy more effectively.

Figure 15. Consumers support automated solution for data deletion.