Ford has filed for a patent to listen to all in-vehicle conversations and use those conversations to target passengers with advertising.

Advertising is a fact of life for all, a source of income for many, and a scourge for some. Among the latter, a topic of growing concern is some companies’ insistence on looking for ways to monetize their users—and their data—even after those users have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars buying companies’ products.

Ford could be on the verge of taking the practice to an all-new level, with a patent to listen to everything that is said inside a vehicle and use that data—along with other telemetry—for targeted advertising.

In-vehicle advertisement presentation systems and methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes determining vehicle information for a trip, the vehicle information including any one or more of a current vehicle location, a vehicle speed, a drive mode, and/or traffic information, determining user information, the user information including any one or more of a route prediction for the trip, a speed prediction for the trip, and/or a destination, determining user preferences for advertisements from any one or more of audio signals within the vehicle and/or historical user data, selecting a number of the advertisements to present to the user during the trip, and providing the advertisements to the user during the trip through a human-machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle (emphasis ours).

Such systems and methods provide maximum opportunity for ad-based monetization. These systems and methods may use knowledge of vehicle destination prediction to provide more relevant advertisements, for example, if a user is going grocery shopping, merchandise purchasing, etc.

The patent application even acknowledges that users dislike ads and suggests a method to mitigate that dislike.

Such systems and methods further provide the opposite force to a user’s natural inclination to seek minimal or no ads. These systems and methods may intelligently schedule variable durations of ads, with playing time seeking to maximize company revenue while minimizing the impact on user experience.

The patent description goes on to emphasize the amount of monitoring and personalization Ford envisions.

The controller can also be configured to determine user presence and tailor the presentation of ads in response. For example, the controller can determine user presence from in-cabin cameras, voice signatures, or other means. When a particular user is identified, the number and/or types of ads can be tailored to the specific preferences of the user(s) identified as being occupants in the vehicle. When multiple individuals are identified, the vehicle can present ads based on the preferences of each user. That is, the controller can present a workload of ads to a first individual who has been identified as an occupant, and a second workload of ads to a second individual who has been identified as an occupant.

As the above excerpts demonstrate, the full description of the patent is about as Orwellian as one might imagine.

Ford Is At a Crossroads

Ford is at a major crossroads with the filing of this patent, with two possible explanations about why it was filed.

Ford Sells Out

On the surface, Ford’s patent appears to be a shocking and brazen attempt to squeeze every possible cent out users that have already spent tens of thousands of dollars to purchase a vehicle they should have every right to own—and enjoy their privacy in.

If Ford moves forward with the implementation of this patent, they will destroy all the goodwill they have gained over the years, being ‘the working man’s vehicle.’ Instead, Ford will take its place as just another money-grubbing company willing to sell out its users’ privacy for a bit more profit.

Ford Stands for Privacy

Another, more optimistic possibility, is that Ford could be pursuing the patent specifically to prevent companies from using such a system. It’s not uncommon for some companies, especially those driven by a set of values, to file patents defensively, or to influence the industry at large.

The company provided the following statement to The Record:

“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” the company spokesperson said.

“The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans,” the statement added, saying Ford “will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”

The above statement is perhaps the strongest indication that Ford may be filing the patent with no intention of actually using it.

Only Time Will Tell

As with most things, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Ford could well be considering such an advertising system, gauging public perception and the possible fallout the company would experience from deploying it.

At the same time, the company could be looking to ensure that—in the event it determines such a system is far too invasive—it still owns the patent to the system and can effectively block any of its competitors from using something it cannot benefit from.

Hopefully, Ford will do the right thing and not sell its customers—or itself—out by turning vehicles people have bought into mass surveillance systems.