Ford keeps your personal information for as long as it determines is necessary for its purposes, legal obligations, or business operations, and applies a multi-factor assessment to determine how long each data type is stored.
This analysis describes what Ford's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
An open-ended retention standard means Ford may retain your data including vehicle telematics, location history, and consumer profiles for extended periods unless you submit a deletion request.
Interpretive note: The policy provides criteria for determining retention rather than specific periods; it is uncertain whether this level of disclosure fully satisfies CPRA's retention disclosure requirements without category-specific schedules.
Ford's updated privacy policy now explicitly states it governs data collection, use, sharing, and protection across all Ford websites, apps, and services, rather than limiting its scope to ford.com and owner.ford.com. This expanded framing indicates the policy applies more broadly to Ford's digital properties and potentially to data collected through connected vehicles and mobile applications. The policy continues to require vehicle owners to inform other drivers and passengers about privacy safeguards and to perform a Master/User Reset before selling or transferring a vehicle.
View change record →The updated privacy policy effective January 16, 2026 modifies how Ford will notify you if it makes material changes to this policy. Previously, the language stated Ford would provide notice to enable you to exercise rights regarding your personal information. The revised language now states notice will be provided 'as may be required by law,' meaning Ford's obligation to notify you depends on applicable legal requirements rather than a contractual commitment to advance notice. Additionally, the policy clarifies connected vehicle data sharing icons and descriptions to better explain when Vehicle Data, Vehicle Location, and Driving Data are being transmitted from your vehicle.
View change record →The updated privacy policy establishes a more structured disclosure framework with explicit California privacy rights information and cookie consent management. The revised terms now route California residents to supplemental privacy notices that explain collection practices and provide mechanisms to exercise privacy rights. The removal of specific language describing customer review collection processes and dealership moderation standards means these details are now consolidated into the main privacy notice rather than appearing in review-specific sections. You can access California-specific privacy rights and consent options through the links provided in the updated privacy notice.
View change record →Ford's retention approach does not specify fixed retention periods for most data categories, which means your personal information including driving history and location data could be retained indefinitely unless you actively request deletion.
How other platforms handle this
You may contact our privacy team with any requests of disclosure, correction, or deletion of your personal information. You may also request suspension of use or suspension of sharing of your personal information with certain third parties.
Your organization may allow you to access and export your data in order to back it up or transfer it to a service outside of Google.
Further, you may take legal actions in relation to any potential breach of your rights regarding the processing of your Personal Information, as well as to lodge complaints before the competent data prot...
"We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process your personal information, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means.Excerpt from Ford's Privacy Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: CPRA requires businesses to disclose retention periods or the criteria used to determine retention for each category of personal information; a general multi-factor description without category-specific periods may not fully satisfy this obligation.
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An open-ended retention standard means Ford may retain your data including vehicle telematics, location history, and consumer profiles for extended periods unless you submit a deletion request.
Ford's retention approach does not specify fixed retention periods for most data categories, which means your personal information including driving history and location data could be retained indefinitely unless you actively request deletion.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
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