Hong Kong engineers who used to disassemble app code to find out which companies might launch services nextHuang Wenjin (Jane Manchun Wong) earlier discovered an option in the unofficial version of Waymo's app that allows passengers to choose not to have data captured by the self-driving car's internal camera used to train artificial intelligence. She then speculated that Waymo might use this feature to deliver targeted advertising content to passengers that is close to their personal preferences.
However, WaymoJulia Ilina thenResponse to this, emphasizing that Waymo will not use such data to learn to identify individuals, nor will it use this data to target passengers with targeted advertising.
Julia Ilina also stated that the code in the unofficial version of the app found by Huang Wenjin does not reflect the actual purpose of the feature, and emphasized that the feature is still in development. Regarding the description found by Huang Wenjin, Julia Ilina explained that it primarily allows passengers to opt out of having their personal information used for machine learning training behind Waymo's service, and also clarified that Waymo's privacy policy has not changed.
Waymo is working on Generative AI training using “interior camera data associated with rider’s identity,” provides opt-opts for this and data sharing under CCPA
Waymo explicitly states in this unreleased Privacy page it may share your data for personalized ads pic.twitter.com/wDUu867Eh3
- Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 5, 2025
Waymo's self-driving car service has expanded to more than 10 cities in the United States.AnnounceIt's available in more locations across the San Francisco Bay Area, including Mountain View, where Google is headquartered, as well as Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale.
