Toyota steers away from Android Auto due to privacy concerns
Toyota has been quite stubborn in its reluctance to introduce support for either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and has been sticking to its proprietary infotainment system for a long time now. It was only this January that the Japanese carmaker announced plans to adopt Apple's platform in the upcoming 2019 Toyota Avalon model.
Speaking to Motor1, Mark DeJongh, Avalon’s Executive Program Manager, reveals more details about Toyota's unwillingness to use Android Auto in its cars:
"We’re a conservative company and we wanted to make sure everything was okay. We wanted to protect our customers privacy. We strongly believe in our stance and in what we’re doing."
In 2015, Motor Trend came out with an article accusing Google of collecting a lot of unnecessary data about Android Auto users, including "vehicle speed, throttle position, coolant and oil temp, engine revs." Google went on to deny some of the accusations, saying that users opt to share their data with the company, but didn't refute claims that it was collecting data on engine revs and vehicle speed.
source: Motor1
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