A car's dashboard showing apps featured by Android Auto. (Photo : YouTube)
Car manufacturers General Motors and Ford recently released statements claiming that Google's Android Auto has a very limited access to their vehicles information. The statements were released after a magazine reported that Porsche decided not to include Android Auto on its cars due data collection practices of Google's infotainment system.
Regarding the matter, Ford told Tech Crunch, "For both Carplay and Android Auto, we only provide access to vehicle data that is required for navigation (such as GPS) and to align interface background colors for day and night modes."
General Motors also told Tech Crunch, "We take the privacy of our customers very seriously and our services - including Android Auto - operate with strong privacy protections and practices."
The issue started when Motor Trend magazine published an article claiming that because of Android Auto's data collection policy, Porsche decided not to integrate it into its cars.
In response to the allegation from Motor Trend, Google said that the company takes customer privacy seriously and insisted that its Android Auto app does not collect sensitive customer data.
According to The Verge, Motor Trend reported that concerns about data collection led Porsche to choose Apple CarPlay as the default infotainment app in its 911 Carrera S and 911 Carrera cars.
Many tech analysts pointed that Volkswagen, Porsche's parent company, does use Android Auto on some of its vehicles.
In its report, Motor Trend stated that Google collect car information such as vehicle speed, engine revs, throttle position, coolant and oil temperature.
As of this writing, Porsche has yet to release a statement about the reason behind its decision to drop Android Auto on some of its cars.
