Hacker News Reader

Comment by mikece | Hacker News Reader

Car dealerships are notoriously horrible about privacy as well. The last time I bought a car at a dealership they wanted me to sign a release that allowed them to use photos and videos of me as part of their television and online advertisement. They were stunned when I refused and threatened to nix the whole deal and I challenged them to do exactly that before (of course) a manager was summoned and eventually I was taken to an office to complete the purchase where I could not be accidentally caught on video or photos which would result in them getting sued for using my image and likeness.

View on HN

I bought a used vehicle at a dealership back in 2018. A couple of years later my daughter was looking for her first car and so we went to the same place. We were just browsing, and were met by a different sales rep. He had to excuse himself to tend to a different customer and during that time we left to go check out other places.

While we were at a different dealership I get an unexpected phone call. It was the sales rep at the first dealership, who I had never met before, and had certainly not given my phone number. I asked him how in the fucking hell he even knew my name, let alone my phone number, and he explained that the rep that sold us our vehicle in 2018 recognized me. I told him that was a very creepy and off-putting experience, that I do not consent to unsolicited phone calls from them, especially in such a creepy situation, and that I won't ever be purchasing another vehicle from them.

"Recognized you"

I wonder where they put the facial detection camera

And then you get about six years of SiriusXM mailers because they sell your data to them.

They have no respect for privacy. I use a Ford.com@domain.com to request a quote from Ford's official website. Apparently Ford shared my information with a dealer. That makes sense, but the dealer continued to email me and advertise cars from other manufacturers.

security in 95% of places is an afterthought. Your data is not really secure at all in the vast majority of places that keep it. Best you can do is be careful who gets it, and even then they often sell it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com