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PSA : Toyota Privacy Invasion

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by jeminy9, Jan 10, 2020.

  1. jeminy9

    jeminy9 Junior Member

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    Recently bought a new 2020 Toyota with TSS 2, got a email 1 week later from Toyota Insurance Management Solutions "TIMS" that they will be soon be offering insurance discounts for my new vehicle, and at the bottom of the email it says..

    "You’ve already opted-in to share your vehicle driving data. And your new car is equipped to transmit data such as how fast you drive, how many miles you drive, longest drive, and shortest drive. So, all that’s left to do is drive the way you normally would.

    After 13 weeks, we’ll be in touch to let you know if you may qualify for a discount on an auto insurance policy. It’s as simple as that."


    Google ToyotaAIMS for their website.

    I never signed any paper or agreed to anything in vehicle UI that allowed this data collection, Toyota just decided they will track me and will sell that info to insurance companies.

    To make it worse when you call the number on that website, they can't disable the tracking for insurance themselves, they will send a mail to another department which will request stopping tracking, they said they will get back to me in 24 hours, it's been 3 days now and didn't hear anything from them.

    If you call regular Toyota customer service they have no idea what Toyota Insurance is and they can't stop or disable data collection by that department!.
     
  2. Bab F

    Bab F Junior Member

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    I had an option to decline this service when registering on the Toyota app. Not sure why that was not an option in this instance. I hope they get back to you and stop the tracking.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have never heard of toyota insurance. file a complaint with nhtsa. not sure who else to report it to, state insurance commissioner?
     
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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  5. jeminy9

    jeminy9 Junior Member

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    This is their website... FAQs | Toyota Insurance Management Solutions
     
    bisco likes this.
  6. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    Huh, sounds like the scam, “your computer has been compromised by a virus. Click on this link to download our latest protection software.”.


    iPad ? Pro
     
  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    This must be a new thing for 2020 PRIME line-up which now has Toyota Safety Connect as standard in all trims. My PRIME has no telematics to send driving data remotely. Did you sign up for the Safety Connect service? If you did, you might have opted-in at that time. I suppose it is still possible for Toyota to extract data from the vehicle driving data recorder (aka "black box") at some time during a dealer service, but I really doubt they do that.

    Did you read through all the "small prints" on your car documentation especially relating to the Safety Connect service? If you truly did not opt-in, I wonder who to complain about things like this.

    You might want to refer to this site for the Toyota privacy policy: Privacy and protection
    Here is an excerpt... though it does not give specific contact info on how to "deactivate" the Connected Services.

    When you lease or buy a vehicle equipped with Connected Services, data collection is active. You may deactivate Connected Services at any time by contacting us; and we will no longer collect your Personal Information, Location Data, Driving Data and Vehicle Health Data.

    If you do not deactivate Connected Services, you specifically consent to our electronic collection and use of your personal information and vehicle data and our storage of such data wherever we designate.
    • Auto Insurance Designed for You. You may choose to opt-in for usage-based insurance products and services. If you opt-in, your Driving Behavior Data (such as your vehicle’s acceleration, speed, braking and steering) and your Location Data will be used to deliver usage-based insurance services to you, and for quality assurance, analysis, research and product development.
     
    #7 Salamander_King, Jan 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2020
    kenmce likes this.
  8. jeminy9

    jeminy9 Junior Member

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    Absolute lie. They do not have any process in place to deactivate, I spent over an hour calling the customer service number located on the both the Toyota website and the Toyota IMS, Toyota customer service says they don't have access to IMS as it's part of another department, they then forward you to Toyota Financial which is responsible for IMS. The IMS people will say they have to email another department to turn it off and will get back to you once it's turned off.

    Whoever responsible for this IMS team needs to be fired for not having process in place to delete customer data before they started collecting it.
     
  9. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

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    I know Google besides all of its monitoring and tracking, probably even times how long it takes me to take a leak, but this 2020 vehicle connected services tracking by default somehow bothers me more.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you don't have any luck with toyota, contact you ag's consumer affairs or insurance division
     
  11. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    [​IMG]

    i WILL find you ..
    .
     
    #11 hill, Jan 12, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2020
    Tideland Prius and Raytheeagle like this.
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    So did you or did you not signed up for the Safety Connect service after you purchased the car? My understanding was that even though the newly purchased car came with the free 3 years of service, the subscription for the service had to be activated by the owner. At least that's the way it used to work.

    If Toyota changed that policy and now all cars equipped with the Connected Service telematics are by default active from day one you drive off of the dealer's lot whether you signed up for the service or not, I feel strongly against the practice.
     
  13. jeminy9

    jeminy9 Junior Member

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    Nope, I didn't sign up for any service, the only papers that I signed are for final sales price, title etc.. Evidently based on Toyota website specs all Prius cars come with safety connect included, however I wasn't shown any papers related to this.

    I spoke to safety connect team, they said they DO NOT MONITOR or TRACK POSITION unless I tap on the button for help!. They said they have no idea about Toyota Insurance monitoring.

    I have an LE which doesn't come with connected services like remote AC prep. I installed Toyota app, which for my car was useless, so I deleted it.

    The first time I came to know about telematics/remote tracking is after seeing that email from TIMS.
     
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    As a 'service', my Chevy dealer signed me up for the free On Star and XM radio when I bought the Sonic. I'm dealers of other brands do the same.
     
  15. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Just FYI, apparently, the Remote Connect APP which was available only in Advanced (Limited in 2020) is no longer available for 2020 PRIME models. In any case, it sure sounds like Toyota has botched the handling of this BIG DATA. I see a class action brewing. If I decide to buy another Toyota (or maybe any make of newer models), I have to be 100% sure that it comes with none of the telematics that can spy on me. I am glad my current model of PRIME has none of that functions built-in.

    Keep us posted if anything develops from your search and contact with Toyota on this issue.
     
    #15 Salamander_King, Jan 12, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2020
  16. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    Who knew that Big Brother was Toyota?
     
  17. EdPalmer42

    EdPalmer42 Member

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    I bought my 2020 Base model a few months ago. Before I even got off the lot, the salesman pushed the button that called Safety Connect so that I could set up my account. There was no mention of Toyota Insurance, but that may be due to different insurance regulations here in Canada. I just accept the fact that Big Brother is watching my every move, at least as long as it's free. At the end of the 3 year free period, if I don't carry on with the service, there's a good chance that an antenna connection is going to accidently be disconnected.

    I was *really* not impressed when, maybe a week after I got the car, I got a call from SiriusXM trying to get me to sign up. My Toyota salesman claimed he had no idea that I would be contacted like that. I've heard that SiriusXM telephone reps are about the worst anywhere to deal with when you want to cancel your service.

    Ed
     
  18. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    Have you ever canceled a Comcast account ;):eek:
     
  19. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    For clarification, TIMS isn't an insurance company. Sounds like they are an agent that can use your driving data for deals from available insurance companies in your state.
     
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the way i drive, i would love this