Your Car Registers Much More Than You Think
Everyone is aware of the invasiveness of smartphone data collection, and many know how to limit it. But few realize that their cars do the same—sometimes even more aggressively—and with fewer legal safeguards than mobile devices.
Your car’s interior is a veritable sensor farm. GPS records your every move, cameras register facial expressions, microphones can listen to phone calls, accelerometers capture behavioral data, and the infotainment system stores everything from your phone. It’s a goldmine for third parties. The features that make the driving experience safer and smoother also send personal data to manufacturers, insurance companies, marketers, and data brokers. The Mozilla Foundation even named cars the worst product category for privacy, reporting that all 25 major auto brands failed basic privacy tests—and some even admitted to sharing data with marketing partners without additional consent, writes G. Calder .
Here’s what’s happening and what you can do about it.
What your car is quietly collecting
Some data collected by your car is common sense, such as GPS data for navigation or tire pressure monitoring for safety. Other tools keep you in lane, call emergency services, and avoid collisions, but also generate rich data sets about where you’re going, how you’re driving, and even who’s in the car. Precise location history, recordings from in-car microphones, and driving behavior are stored and shared with manufacturers and third-party intermediaries. Most of this is hidden in default settings and app permissions, masked as convenient connectivity for users.
All of this was approved through the Biden Infrastructure Bill in 2021, along with the infamous “kill switch” for vehicles, which allows the vehicle to be remotely disabled. This, too, remains in effect.
You can control exactly what data is collected by your vehicle via websites such as Privacy4Cars or VehiclePrivacyReport.
You can limit it, but there’s a catch
Automakers can share or sell driving data and data collected in the car for analysis, determining insurance premiums, advertising, and product development. While it’s possible to disable certain parts of the vehicle’s menus, disabling some analytics also limits features that drivers actually want, such as live traffic information or emergency call options. Reclaiming privacy often means sacrificing conveniences you’ve already paid for.
Infotainment platforms and connected services can also have their own pipelines and policies. The end result is a confusing patchwork where opt-outs aren’t necessarily implemented in one place, and it can be difficult to achieve complete privacy.
Why is it legal?
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that tracking a vehicle via GPS constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment, meaning law enforcement must obtain a warrant before tracking your car. But surprisingly, that ruling applies only to government surveillance. The collection of corporate data by private companies, including automakers and insurance companies, is not subject to the same constitutional limitations.
So while police require a warrant, entities profiting from your data don’t. If you accept the terms and conditions at the dealership or when you first use the car’s infotainment system, you’ve likely already agreed to them.
How Cars Are More Invasive Than Phones
Smartphones collect location data, Bluetooth beacons, and in-app events that can be linked to advertising IDs or user accounts. App permissions, OS prompts, and platform rules give you some visibility and control, and you can set location settings to “Only While Using,” revoke background access, and reset advertising IDs. But car data settings are more opaque and much harder to navigate, with controls scattered across the dealership, manufacturer, companion apps, and more.
Many people expect their phones to track them and have learned to easily manage those settings, which often come with clearer guidelines about when something is actively tracking their activities. Generally, people don’t expect their cars to create a profile that’s just as valuable—and in some cases even more useful—to third parties.
They say you can unsubscribe, but that’s not always true
Disabling location services or clicking to opt out doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe. Independent research and investigative journalists have discovered that some connected vehicles continue to transmit telemetry for diagnostics, safety updates, or “system performance” even when privacy settings are disabled.
And because manufacturers control the software, there’s no public way to verify what’s actually being sent in the background. For many drivers, the only option is to rely on the manufacturer’s promise—something Mozilla’s 2023 report found unwise, as every car brand tested failed basic privacy controls.
In short, the default settings of some brands mean that the only real solution is to choose a different car.
Last thought
Analytics can save lives when the vehicle detects an accident, guides drivers around storm zones, or signals a mechanical malfunction. But it becomes profitable surveillance when the same hardware is also used by companies that create driver profiles, customize pricing, and target individuals without clear consent. Privacy should also be treated as a vital safety feature. Take the time to review your settings, restrict app access, erase your data before servicing or selling your car, and make sure you know what’s being recorded and sold before you buy your next car.
https://www.frontnieuws.com/uw-auto-registreert-veel-meer-dan-u-denkt