Your Car Knows Where You've Been — And It's Telling People You've Never Met

Your car has become a rolling data center, and most people have no idea.

The navigation system you use to find the nearest Chick-fil-A, the GPS chip that tracks your vehicle if it gets stolen, the cellular modem that pushes over-the-air software updates — all of that hardware generates data. A lot of it. And depending on the automaker, that data can be shared with third parties ranging from insurance companies to marketing platforms, often buried in a terms-of-service document that nobody reads during the excitement of signing paperwork at the dealership.

This isn't a conspiracy theory. It's a documented, legal, and growing part of how the automotive industry makes money beyond selling you a car.

What Your Connected Car Is Actually Logging

Let's start with the basics. Modern connected vehicles — which at this point includes most new cars sold in the US with any kind of infotainment system — can collect a surprisingly wide range of data points.

Location data is the obvious one: where you drive, how often, at what times of day. But it goes deeper than that. Many systems log your speed, acceleration and braking patterns, how hard you corner, whether you wear your seatbelt, and how long the car sits idle. Some vehicles track which doors you open and close, how often you use certain features, and even the music or podcast content you consume through connected audio services.

Ford, GM, Toyota, Hyundai — virtually every major automaker operating in the US has some version of a connected services platform. OnStar (GM), FordPass Connect, Toyota Connected Services, Hyundai BlueLink — these systems are often presented as safety and convenience tools, which they genuinely are. The data collection is the quieter side of the deal.

A 2023 investigation by Mozilla's Privacy Not Included project examined 25 major car brands and found that all of them collected more personal data than necessary, and most had vague policies about how that data is shared or sold. Several brands explicitly reserved the right to share data with third parties for marketing purposes.

Who's Receiving That Data?

The recipients of your vehicle's location data fall into a few broad categories, and some of them may surprise you.

Automakers themselves use aggregated driving data to improve vehicle design, refine navigation maps, and identify potential mechanical issues before they become recalls. That's the part that's hard to argue with.

Insurance companies are a different story. Programs like GM's OnStar Smart Driver and similar telematics programs from insurers like Progressive (Snapshot) and Allstate (Drivewise) can directly influence your insurance premiums based on how and where you drive. Some drivers opt into these voluntarily for potential discounts. Others don't realize their automaker has already been feeding data to an insurance partner.

Data brokers operate in the shadows of this ecosystem. Companies like Verisk and LexisNexis collect and resell driving behavior data to insurers, financial institutions, and other buyers. A 2024 New York Times investigation revealed that some automakers had shared customer driving data with these brokers without making it remotely clear in consumer agreements.

Law enforcement can and does request location data from automakers through legal processes. In some cases, that data has been used in criminal investigations — which raises legitimate questions about where the line is between public safety and surveillance.

The Insurance Angle Gets Complicated Fast

Let's stay on insurance for a moment, because this is where most US drivers feel the most direct impact.

If you've opted into a telematics discount program, you know your driving is being scored. But what many people don't realize is that even outside of those programs, some insurers are purchasing driving behavior data from automakers or data brokers and using it to inform underwriting decisions. You might be getting rated on data you never agreed to share for that purpose.

Privacy advocates like those at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have been pushing for clearer opt-in requirements and data minimization standards in the auto industry. As of now, federal regulation in this space is limited. California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives residents some rights around personal data, but nationwide protections are inconsistent.

"The car is becoming one of the most intimate surveillance devices in people's lives," noted one EFF policy analyst in a 2023 statement on vehicle data. "People understand their phones collect data. They haven't caught up to the idea that their cars do, too."

What You Can Actually Do About It

Here's the practical part. You have more control than you might think — it just takes some effort to exercise it.

Read the connected services agreement before you activate anything. When you set up OnStar, BlueLink, FordPass, or any similar platform, there's usually a data sharing section. Look for language about third-party sharing and opt out where possible.

Check your automaker's privacy portal. Most major brands now have dedicated privacy pages where US customers can request data deletion or limit certain types of sharing. GM, Ford, Toyota, and others have these — they're just not advertised at the dealership.

Opt out of telematics-based programs if you're not getting clear value. If you enrolled in a discount program and aren't actually saving money, there's no reason to keep the data tap open.

Be cautious with third-party apps that connect to your vehicle. Some apps request access to your car's location data through OBD-II ports or manufacturer APIs. Review those permissions the same way you would a phone app.

Consider what you connect via Bluetooth and Android Auto/CarPlay. Your phone's apps can share location data with your car's system, and vice versa. Audit those connection permissions periodically.

The Bigger Picture

None of this means you should be paranoid every time you back out of the driveway. Connected vehicle features genuinely save lives — automatic crash notification, stolen vehicle tracking, and remote diagnostics are real benefits.

But the data economy that's grown up around these features deserves more scrutiny than it typically gets. Your daily routes, your late-night drives, your regular stops — that's a detailed portrait of your life, and it's being collected whether or not you've thought much about it.

The good news is that awareness is the first step, and regulation is slowly catching up. In the meantime, knowing what your car is sharing — and with whom — puts you in a better position than the vast majority of drivers on the road.

GPS Nguyen Vy covers location technology, navigation systems, and the privacy questions that come with them. Stay informed at gpsnguyenvy.com.