CarLotz said Friday it has partnered with Privacy4Cars to add another layer of data-privacy protection for consumers consigning or selling their vehicles through the consignment-to-retail used-car marketplace.
CarLotz has used Privacy4Cars technology to process all vehicles at its locations, scrubbing personal information captured by the vehicle.
Privacy4Cars builds privacy and compliance solutions for clients to delete personal information from vehicles.
Cars can capture personal information when the user connect their phone with the vehicle through Bluetooth or USB. And if the vehicle has GPS or telematics, that personal information can be stored, as well.
“Most people would never sell or turn-in their mobile phone without erasing all its personal information,” CarLotz chief operating officer John Foley said in a news release. “Your vehicle’s computer often contains the same personal information and shouldn't be transferred to a new owner without securely removing that data.”
That’s where CarLotz’s work with Privacy4Cars comes into play.
“The partnership with Privacy4Cars allows us to exceed expectations and deliver on our promise to provide best in class customer service to our guests,” Foley said. “Privacy, safety and security should never be a concern when selling a car and, whether consigning or selling directly to us, CarLotz is proud to lead the way.”
Insights from Privacy4Car show that more than four of five vehicles sold in 2021 contained personal data. That underscores the importance of this type of partnership.
“Consumers are increasingly choosing to do business with companies who care about their privacy and safeguard their information,” Privacy4Cars founder Andrea Amico said.
“Cars today collect a lot of data from previous owners and their family members; data that should not be sold with the cars,” Amico said. “That's why this partnership between Privacy4Cars and CarLotz is so important — together we can offer the peace of mind their customers deserve and, by doing so, make CarLotz their first choice on where to do business.”
The National Auto Auction Association and KAR Global said in a joint statement Tuesday that KAR is licensing its “Privacy Pam” privacy and security training program for NAAA-member auctions to use.
KAR uses the training program to help its near-10,000 employees protect the data and information of its customers — which include automakers, dealers, fleets, rental companies and financial institutions — and now NAAA-member auctions will have access to those same courses.
The topics in that training include the differences between “privacy” and “security,” personal information that can be found in vehicles, international privacy and more.
The program is updated and augmented to meet the changing dynamics of data privacy, along with changes in security trends and threats.
“As vehicles and our industry continue to evolve digitally, it is more important than ever to give our members the tools they need to keep their auctions — and their customers — safe from security and privacy breaches,” NAAA chief executive officer Tricia Heon said in a news release.
“We’re excited to offer these trainings to our membership and give them valuable tools that protect their businesses,” she said.
NAAA aims to have the Privacy Pam sessions available soon and plans to share additional details on how to access the training.
KAR created the program in 2020 and launched it for employee use last year. It follows KAR’s Safe T. Sam training program, which focuses on auction safety. That program was built in 2012 and licensed for NAAA-member auction use in 2015.
“Our industry-leading digital marketplaces are powered by terabytes of data that help drive our customers’ success. Privacy Pam is just one of the meaningful investments KAR has made over the past several years to advance our data protection capabilities and safeguard our customers,” KAR chief privacy officer Michelle Bray said in a release. “Through working with NAAA to share this training, we are empowering member auctions and our industry as a whole.”
Appropriately enough, the news comes during what the National Cybersecurity Alliance has dubbed Data Privacy Week, which began Monday.
This marks the first time that NCA has taken its Data Privacy Day and expaned it to an entire week. The event focuses on how both individuals and businesses can protect data privacy.
“With so much noise surrounding cybersecurity, people and businesses are often left with the dangerous misperception that there is nothing they can do on their own to manage their digital privacy or that it is an ‘all-or-nothing proposition,’ but the reality is quite different,” said Lisa Plaggemier, interim executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, in a seperate news release.
“With just a little bit of clear guidance and tips, individuals and businesses can take back control of their digital lives, identify the most trustworthy partners and strike the perfect balance between privacy and convenience,” Plaggemier said. “That’s why we have expanded Data Privacy Day into a full week-long initiative so that we can provide a huge slate of content and events that individuals and businesses can tap into so that they can take back control of their digital lives.”
The seven-year journey Privacy4Cars has navigated so far to identify the challenges posed by vehicle data and to create solutions to better protect consumers reached another important juncture on Tuesday.
The company announced that it has secured two patents, including a patent for its proprietary process to remove privacy information from in-vehicle modules.
Privacy4Cars offers a global tool for the deletion of personal information, including phone numbers, call logs, text messages, garage door codes and more that would otherwise remain stored in modern vehicles’ systems after a handoff.
In 2014, Privacy4Cars founder Andrea Amico authored a statistical study on how frequently and what kind of data is left in rental units as well as vehicles available for sale. It was while completing the project that Amico realized how extremely common it was for drivers and occupants to leave — and unknowingly grant others access to — highly detailed digital footprints of personal information in vehicles they no longer owned or controlled.
Amico also realized that companies were putting themselves at risk of violating a budding and increasingly complex web of local and global privacy and data security compliance regulations. The idea of a solution to resolve these data privacy issues for consumers and businesses sparked, and Privacy4Cars was born.
“By securing these two patents, Privacy4Cars has solidified itself as the clear leader and innovator in the vehicle privacy and security space,” Amico said in a news release. “Last year, more than four out of five cars were resold while still containing the personal information of the previous occupants.
“As regulations and litigation in this area continue to evolve, and as consumers become increasingly aware of the growing amount of personal information vehicles ingest, store, share, and leave exposed if not properly removed, automotive businesses that seek to efficiently secure this data and protect their customers while building compliance records can rely on Privacy4Cars’ proprietary solutions,” Amico continued.
Privacy4Cars has emerged as a deletion tool and has been adopted by leading companies in the automotive space, including captives, auto finance companies, fleets, auto insurance companies, dealerships, auto auctions, vehicle recovery agents and vehicle inspection companies.
Privacy4Cars is available to consumers as a free to download app and to businesses as a subscription service.
Businesses can also use Privacy4Cars’ software development kit to embed its patented data deletion solution into their existing apps.
For more information about Privacy4Cars, visit https://privacy4cars.com.
Safe T. Sam now has a new colleague: Privacy Pam.
On Thursday, KAR Global announced the launch of Privacy Pam, the company’s new privacy mascot and training program for employees. The company highlighted the initiative reflects the increasing evolution of the remarketing industry and its commitment to advancing digital used-vehicle marketplaces through its broad portfolio of remarketing solutions.
“KAR is committed to operating the fastest, most intuitive and transparent digital marketplaces in the industry. And with that comes the responsibility to safeguard the privacy and security of our customers and their data,” KAR Global chairman and chief executive officer Jim Hallett said in a news release.
“KAR introduced Safe T. Sam eight years ago and set the industry standard for auction safety, Today we’re proud to introduce Privacy Pam to advance our commitment to data privacy in the digital age,” Hallett continued.
Over the coming weeks and months, the company indicated Privacy Pam will deploy proprietary new employee training modules developed under the guidance of KAR chief privacy officer Michelle Bray and chief information security officer Leon Ravenna.
KAR explained the interactive material is designed to engage employees through fun tips and tricks that reinforce current best practices while familiarizing them with relevant laws and regulations.
“Digital marketplaces provide a lot of advantages for buyers and sellers in terms of speed, flexibility and reach, but there can be no compromise on customer trust or security,” Bray said. “Privacy isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the minimum price of entry in the digital world.
“KAR has made meaningful investments in technology and staff to advance its information and data protection capabilities over the past several years,” she continued. “And as the growing patchwork of government and customer requirements continues to evolve, Privacy Pam will help ensure every KAR employee around the globe is aligned, aware and mobilized around this priority.”
The company added the first Privacy Pam awareness module will launch globally to all KAR employees in conjunction with Data Privacy Day, which is next Thursday.
KAR mentioned that forthcoming curricula topics include the difference between privacy and security, personal information, global privacy, maps, cookies, the cloud and mobile privacy.
A video introducing Privacy Pam can be viewed on this website.
