Toyota Not Implementing Android Auto Due To Privacy Concerns

[krew]

This is hardly a surprise, but anyone waiting for Android Auto in a Lexus shouldn't hold their breath -- from Motor1:

If you’re hoping to drive a new Toyota with Android Auto anytime soon, you will be disappointed. The Japanese automaker, which has resisted both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for several years, is still leery of Android due to privacy concerns. It was only this past January when the company announced Apple CarPlay would come to the 2019 Avalon – a first for any Toyota product.

“We’re a conservative company and we wanted to make sure everything was okay,” said Mark DeJongh, Avalon’s Executive Program Manager, about the company’s stance against Android Auto. He spoke during a Toyota first-drive event this week. “We wanted to protect our customers privacy. We strongly believe in our stance and in what we’re doing.”

 

[ssun30]

This is all BS. Privacy is definitely not the prime concern for vehicle manufacturers. It's all about money, period.

Data is the money of the future. When the automaker make their own connectivity platform, they also own user-generated data. Ever wonder why smartphone makers bothered doing all these bloatware that are basically reskinned stock software? These software collect huge amounts of data from users which constitute the manufacturer's own ecosystem. And guess what? Majority of their profit comes from data; selling hardware is very low margin these days, but data are basically free. This is also why every single automaker make their own connectivity platform, even if they also offer Android Auto or CarPlay. We are talking about a multi-trillion dollar economy from automobile-based data connectivity here, and automakers are not benevolent institutions.

There is clearly a conflict of interest here, and Toyota will make sure to delay Android Auto for as long as possible to make a deal with Google. Who knows what kind of deals they made with Apple to have a share of those CarPlay data?

 

[spwolf]

This is all BS. Privacy is definitely not the prime concern for vehicle manufacturers. It's all about money, period.

Data is the money of the future. When the automaker make their own connectivity platform, they also own user-generated data. Ever wonder why smartphone makers bothered doing all these bloatware that are basically reskinned stock software? These software collect huge amounts of data from users which constitute the manufacturer's own ecosystem. And guess what? Majority of their profit comes from data; selling hardware is very low margin these days, but data are basically free. This is also why every single automaker make their own connectivity platform, even if they also offer Android Auto or CarPlay. We are talking about a multi-trillion dollar economy from automobile-based data connectivity here, and automakers are not benevolent institutions.

There is clearly a conflict of interest here, and Toyota will make sure to delay Android Auto for as long as possible to make a deal with Google. Who knows what kind of deals they made with Apple to have a share of those CarPlay data?

it is not the same... while i agree that they should offer it and let users deal with it, it is true that users can sue toyota if something like Facebook fiasco happens.

According to the publication, Google collected “Stuff like vehicle speed, throttle position, coolant and oil temp, engine revs—basically Google wants a complete OBD2 dump whenever someone activates Android Auto…. Apple, by way of stark contrast, only wants to know if the car is moving while Apple Play is in use.”

difference between Apple and Google is big when it comes to this - Google makes billions on selling ads, while Apple makes it on selling devices.

 

[mordecai]

I would also point out that Apple respects the consumer’s rights to privacy to the point where they develop hardware like the Neural Engine in the iPhone X to specifically to avoid having to upload sensitive 3D face mapping information to an online database.

Apple and Google have completely different approaches.

 

[ssun30]

^^I am not talking about data that will make them end up in jail aka privacy. Majority of the data they collect are legal and accepted by users. Just by turning on location services you have agreed to make your commute routine, preferred dining spots etc. available as a tradable data.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

As far as I know even the commute stuff is calculated on the local device; my iPhone and Watch know about it because they're with me on the commute but my Apple stuff that stays at home doesn't.