Mercedes installed the hardware for rear-wheel steering in your car, then charges $575/year to unlock it. Want your engine to accelerate like it was designed to? $1,200/year. The parts are there. The capability exists. Mercedes just flips a software switch when you pay. You bought a car. They sold you a subscription to the car you already own. Mercedes can collect your fingerprints, your voice, where you drive, how you drive, and infer your emotional state from cabin cameras. They can share it with advertisers. The privacy policy is 12 pages long. Mercedes says they need your emotions for "vehicle comfort." Advertisers need your emotions for targeting. Same data, different purpose, one collection.
What they claim: Mercedes privacy policy describes data collection for vehicle improvement and customer service
What we found: A 2023 Mozilla *Privacy Not Included* review found Mercedes-Benz can collect biometric data (fingerprints, voice), precise geolocation, driving behaviour, and emotional state inferred from in-cabin monitoring. Mercedes reserves the right to share data with third parties for advertising. Mozilla rated Mercedes among the worst car brands for privacy, noting the 12-page privacy policy was "absurdly long."
What they claim: Mercedes-Benz promotes vehicle cybersecurity as a priority
What we found: In 2024, security researchers discovered a misconfigured GitHub token that exposed Mercedes-Benz's entire internal source code repository, including cloud access keys, internal API credentials, and design documents. The leak was discovered by RedHunt Labs and reported through responsible disclosure. The exposed repository included code for Mercedes's connected vehicle backend.
What they claim: Mercedes-Benz promotes premium connected experience with MBUX infotainment
What we found: Mercedes introduced subscription fees for rear-wheel steering ($575/year) and acceleration boost ($1,200/year) — features that are hardware-present but software-locked. Following BMW's backlash, Mercedes positioned these as "optional performance upgrades." The car physically has the hardware. Mercedes sells software permission to use it.