Waymo is preparing to use data from Robotaxis, including videos from interior cameras tied to rider identity, according to an unreleased version of the privacy policy discovered by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, and is preparing to raise fresh questions about how many rider behaviors can be repeated for AI training.
The draft language also reveals the possibility that Waymo will share rider data to personalize ads. This is nothing new. Waymo collects personal data to improve our services and collects them for advertising purposes in accordance with our existing privacy policy.
What changes when this feature is released is that riders have the opportunity to “opt out” of selling, sharing or using it for AI training.
“The feature still under development will provide riders with the opportunity to opt out of data collection for (machine learning) training purposes, rather than introducing changes to Waymo’s privacy policy.”
The unpublished privacy page states: “Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its features and coordinate products, services, advertisements and offers. You may opt out of sharing information with third parties unless required for the functionality of the service.”
The language is standard in today’s world. Bringing the camera into the mix is something that ratchets the creepy factor.
“For training (generated AI), we will use personal information (including interior camera data related to your identity) to opt out of Waymo or its affiliates,” reads the draft language of the unpublished page.
Ilina pointed out that Waymo uses personal data to train AI models for safety, ensure that the car is clean, find lost items, provide help in case of emergency, ensure that the rules in the car are followed, and generally improves its products and services.
“The data Waymo collects will comply with Waymo’s one privacy policy,” Ilina said. “This policy states that it explicitly states that it will not share any personal information that Waymo collects through its products and services with other alphabet companies. For use in the following purposes, we will provide the services to Waymo with your consent or in the Sharing section of our Privacy Policy.”
Other alphabet companies working on AI include Google and DeepMind.
When asked if Waymo would warn riders about the feature that opts out when it’s live, or if users should hunt the app to find it themselves, Ilina said the company has not yet finalized its notification or deployment plan.
Waymo is the only autonomous vehicle company so far that draws revenue from US Robotaxi rides. As of February, the company has recorded more than 200,000 paid Robotaxis rides each week through commercial services in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin. This is a harbinger of more growth as Waymo expands into new markets, up from 10,000 rides per week just two years ago. The company aims to launch commercial services in Atlanta, Miami and Washington, DC over the next two years.
Despite these benefits, Waymo is likely to still be a loser of alphabet money, so it may seem like the company is exploring other revenue streams, such as data sharing in-car ads and generated AI models.
Last year, Alphabet poured another $5 billion into Waymo, raising another $5.6 billion from outside investors who increased its valuation to more than $45 billion.
Waymo has invested heavily in R&D, including expanding its fleet, purchasing specialized equipment, vehicle maintenance, and charging infrastructure, and is carrying the expansion costs.
It’s not clear how far Waymo is from being evenly even. Alphabet will not split Waymo’s finances in its revenue report. Instead, Waymo is included in the “Other Bets” section of Alphabet’s balance sheet, recording an operating loss of $1.2 billion in 2024.
This article was originally published on April 7, 2025 at 9:04am. Updated to reflect new information from Waymo.