How to Figure Out What Your Car Knows About You (and Opt Out of Sharing When You Can)
eff.org
Cars collect a lot of our personal data, and car companies disclose a lot of that data to third parties. It’s often unclear what’s being collected, and what's being shared and with whom. A recent New York Times article highlighted how data is shared by G.M. with insurance companies, sometimes without clear knowledge from the driver. If you're curious about what your car knows about you, you might be able to find out. In some cases, you may even be able to opt out of some of that sharing of data.
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If they have airbags and ABS they know a shitload more than you think.
I don’t think most older vehicles have any internet connection, regardless of what safety equipment they have. Or am I wrong?
Depends on how old, but OnStar has been around since before 2000.
Early implementations may have been less creepy, but I'm not sure there's any way to know.
Depends on the vehicle. Mine is mid-2010s but no internet connection to my knowledge—unless they’ve been paying for it in secret without telling me. Doesn’t seem especially likely.
Mime is from 2016 and does. There's no outward indication (the smartest thing exposed to the driver is Sirius XM), but the salesman told me it could be located in the event of theft, and it has microphones in it.
Interesting. Well maybe I’ll have to do some research.
They know a lot less than you think they do....and none of it is person data. It's all drivetrain and running diagnostic stuff. Very few cars in 2013 had apps for the vehicles....and pretty much none had them in 2003.
Well, if you think connected apps are the only way cars invade your privacy…. That’s cute, good for you.
Road speed, accelerator position, brake pedal position, number of seatbelts buckled or not, GPS position and heading, time since key on and probably at least a dozen other parameters I can’t think of off the top of my head are all being recorded. Those certainly are personal data that can and will be used against you in the event of a crash.
Yes. Telemetry boxes. Most cars have had them for almost twenty years. The cell connection is more modern.
Telemetric insurance is a thing now.
Yeah, just ask any Tesla driver who also has Tesla insurance. I’d be screwed HARD as I go to work when it’s still dark out and according to Tesla that makes me a huge risk.