Is My Car Spying on Me? Car Privacy

By Chris Clark, founder of Senior Tech Cafe

Car privacy is about the data your car collects on you, from where you drive to how hard you brake to what’s on your phone, and who the car company passes it to. If your car connects to the internet, and most newer ones do, the short answer to “Is my car spying on me?” is yes, at least a little.

While your best friend might forget your birthday or what kind of coffee you like, your car? It remembers everything.

How fast you drive, where you go, how hard you brake, maybe even how many times you’ve belted out “Sweet Caroline” at a red light.

Welcome to the age of the “snoopy car,” where vehicles aren’t just modes of transportation anymore. They’re data-collecting spies on wheels. And unlike a good old-fashioned nosy neighbor who peeks through the blinds, your car isn’t just being curious. It’s taking notes.

Types of Data Your Car Is Hoarding Like a Digital Packrat

Car Brands and Their Data Collection Habits

Not all cars are snoopy in the same way. Some manufacturers just want to know if your engine is running smoothly. Others, well… they want a little more. Here’s what’s on the record for a few of the big names:

Nissan and Kia: When Mozilla reviewed 25 car brands’ privacy policies in 2023, Nissan’s said it could collect “sexual activity,” “health diagnosis data” and “genetic information.” Kia’s mentioned “sex life or sexual orientation information.” How a car company would get this, and why it needs to know about your sex life to help you parallel park, is anybody’s guess.
General Motors: Many GM owners found they’d been signed up for OnStar Smart Driver, which passed their driving data to LexisNexis and Verisk, consumer reporting companies whose reports insurers use. GM ended the program in April 2024. In January 2026 the FTC finalized an order that bans GM from sharing driving and location data with consumer reporting companies for five years and requires owners’ consent before it collects connected-car data.
Toyota: A 2025 class-action lawsuit accused Toyota and an affiliate of sending owners’ location, speed and braking data to Progressive insurance. Toyota’s app now has a Data Privacy Portal where you can decline insurance sharing (more on that below).
Tesla: The cars record video from cameras inside and outside. Tesla says cabin camera images don’t leave the car unless you turn on data sharing, though it may share short clips after a safety event like a crash. That still means your car might have front-row footage of your dashboard karaoke.
Everyone else: Mozilla gave every one of the 25 brands it reviewed a failing grade on privacy. Ford and Toyota included.

The real kicker? Unlike your grandchildren’s social media posts, which you can choose not to look at, you get very little say in whether your car collects this information. Much of it happens whether you like it or not, and some of it ends up with data brokers you’ve never heard of.

Why This Should Make You Hit the Brakes

Now, you might be thinking: Okay, my car is nosy, but is that really a problem?

Short answer: Yes. Here are a few reasons why:

Insurance companies love this data. Some GM drivers found their insurance rates had jumped, then learned their car had been ratting them out for hard braking and fast acceleration through a reporting company their insurer used.
Lack of transparency. Many drivers have no idea this is happening. Some were enrolled in data collection programs without knowing it.
Who else is getting your info? Car companies aren’t collecting data for fun. They’re storing it, selling it and, in some cases, sharing it with law enforcement, insurers and who-knows-who-else.

What the Car Companies Say (A.k.a. The “Trust Us, It’s for Your Own Good” Line)

What’s Actually Happening With Your Data?

Your car’s treasure trove of information tends to land in three places:

Insurance companies: If you’ve ever wondered why your premium jumped even though you haven’t been in an accident, your car might be the tattletale.
Data brokers and other third parties: Mozilla’s review found that 84% of the car brands it checked say they share personal data, and 76% say they can sell it. Brokers package it up and resell it to advertisers and anyone else willing to pay.
Law enforcement: More than half the brands, 56%, said they’d hand data to police or government agencies on a simple request, no court order needed. If you think your phone is the only device that can be used to track you, think again.

The Privacy Red Flags No One Warned You About

Here are a few of the red flags all this collecting and sharing raises:

Lack of clear communication: Most drivers don’t know what their car collects, let alone where it goes. The details are buried in the fine print, right next to the section on proper tire pressure, which no one has read in the history of car ownership.
Vague or nonexistent opt-outs: Even when you find out, switching it off isn’t always simple. Some features can’t be fully turned off, and others require calling customer service and jumping through so many hoops you might as well join the circus.
How secure is your data? Many companies store your data without saying how it’s protected. Given how often big companies get breached, that’s not exactly reassuring.

At the end of the day, most of us have no idea where this information ends up or how long it’s kept. It’s like throwing your diary into the wind and hoping it lands somewhere safe.

There’s still no national privacy law in the US written for car data. A handful of states, including California, now give you the right to see what a company holds on you and ask it to delete it. Everywhere else, the car company’s own policy is about as comforting as a screen door on a submarine.

None of this is hypothetical. Investigators already use car data to reconstruct crashes and check where a car was and when. Useful in a criminal case, maybe. The bigger issue is that most drivers don’t realize this data is being collected and shared in the first place.

Is My Car Spying on Me? How to Find Out

To find out if your car is spying on you, run a free vehicle privacy report with your car’s VIN, then check the car’s privacy settings and ask the main consumer reporting company for your driving file. Together they take about 15 minutes and show what’s collected and whether it has already traveled.

Here’s how to do each one.

Run a Free Vehicle Privacy Report

A vehicle privacy report is a free lookup at vehicleprivacyreport.com, run by a company called Privacy4Cars. Type in your car’s 17-character VIN (it’s on your registration and your insurance card) and it shows what kinds of data the maker says it collects, shares and sells for that model. It won’t show your own trips, but it tells you what you’re dealing with.

Look at the Settings on the Car and in Its App

Most connected cars have a privacy or connectivity menu on the dashboard screen, and the maker’s phone app often has more. On newer Fords, for example, it’s Vehicle, then Settings, then Privacy. In the Toyota app, tap Account, then Data Privacy Portal. Menu names differ by brand and model year, so search the maker’s support site for “privacy settings” plus your model if you can’t find it.

Ask What’s in Your File

LexisNexis, the consumer reporting company that received GM drivers’ data, will send you a free consumer disclosure report showing what it holds on you, including any driving data. Request it at consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com or by calling 1-888-497-0011. Verisk, the other company GM used, says it no longer sells driving-behavior reports.

How to Protect Your Car Privacy

You don’t need to go back to a horse and buggy to protect your privacy. There are several ways to keep your smart car from being a blabbermouth, and none of them involve crawling under the hood with a wrench (well, mostly).

Here’s how to put the brakes on unwanted surveillance.

1. Know Your Car’s Data Policy (A.k.a. Read the Fine Print, Even Though It’s Boring)

Car companies aren’t exactly shouting from the rooftops about their data collection. But if you dig, usually in the owner’s manual, the car’s settings screen or the maker’s phone app, you’ll find what your car tracks and where that data goes.

Two things to look for:

Privacy settings. Some models let you choose what gets recorded or shared.
Programs you were signed up for. Some features enroll you in data sharing automatically. OnStar Smart Driver was the famous one.

If you’re feeling ambitious, search for your car maker’s privacy policy online. You may be surprised (and horrified) at what you find.

Bonus tip: Paste the policy into an AI chatbot like ChatGPT and ask it to list what the policy says about collecting, sharing and selling your data. It’s much faster than reading the legalese yourself, though it’s worth checking anything alarming against the policy itself.

2. Wipe Your Data Before Selling or Trading In

You wouldn’t sell your old smartphone without erasing your photos, texts and cat videos. Your car holds a surprising amount of the same stuff, and it’ll hand all of it to the next driver.

Before the car leaves your driveway:

Run the factory reset on the dashboard screen, usually under Settings. That clears saved addresses (the new owner doesn’t need to know where you get your donuts), paired phones, contacts and call history.
Clear garage door codes if your car has a built-in opener.
Remove the car from your account in the maker’s app and cancel any connected services, so you can’t be charged and the new owner can’t be tracked by you, or you by them.

It’s the same idea as wiping an old phone or computer before you let it go.

3. Disable Unnecessary Features (A.k.a. Your Car Doesn’t Need to Listen to You 24/7)

Many car makers offer some way to opt out of data collection. They just don’t make it easy. Here’s what works:

Use the app or the dashboard first. Toyota owners can decline insurance sharing in the app under Account, Data Privacy Portal, then Insure Connect. Other makers have similar switches.
Call customer service if you can’t find a setting, and ask them to stop sharing your data. Be prepared for some pushback, and ask for confirmation in writing.
Use your rights. GM owners can now ask GM for a copy of their data and have it deleted under the FTC order. If you live in a state with a privacy law, like California, you can ask any car maker to delete your data and stop selling it.
Opt out at the other end. LexisNexis takes opt-out and deletion requests on the same page where you request your report.

One warning: some services stop working when you opt out. If you really love remote start, check what you’re switching off.

5. Go Nuclear: Disconnect the Data Module

If you’re serious about cutting off your car’s ability to “phone home,” you can have its built-in cellular connection switched off. Toyota calls this part the Data Communication Module, or DCM, and will deactivate it if you ask (press the SOS button or call Toyota’s customer care).

What it does:

Stops the car from sending data to the maker and anyone it shares with.
Shuts off the built-in tracking and remote features.

What it costs: the SOS button, automatic crash notification and roadside-assistance calls stop working too, along with remote start and the app. For a driver who lives alone or drives country roads, that’s a real trade-off, not a footnote. Ask the maker to switch it off rather than pulling fuses yourself, which can take other systems down with it.

6. Be Cautious With Phone Syncing

Taking Control: You’re in the Driver’s Seat

You don’t have to give up all your privacy to drive a modern car. Here’s what you can do this week:

Run a free vehicle privacy report with your VIN to see what your car’s maker collects.
Check the privacy settings on the dashboard and in the app.
Turn off insurance sharing and anything else you didn’t knowingly sign up for.
Be choosy about what you sync. Your car doesn’t need your whole phone.
Wipe the car before you sell or trade it in.

Laws are playing catch-up, so for now drivers have to take control of their own data. For more ways to keep your information to yourself, see our online safety guide for seniors.

Because at the end of the day, your car should take you places, not take your personal information along for the ride.

Questions About Car Privacy

Can My Car Insurance Company See My Driving Data?

It can if the data reaches them. Some car makers have shared driving data with consumer reporting companies such as LexisNexis, whose reports insurers use, or with insurers directly. You can request your free LexisNexis consumer disclosure report to see what’s on file, and decline insurance sharing in your car’s app.

Does Disconnecting My Car’s Internet Connection Stop the Tracking?

It stops the car from sending data, but it costs you. Turning off the built-in cellular connection also turns off emergency features like automatic crash notification and the SOS button, along with remote start and the phone app. The car still stores some data inside itself, so wipe it before you sell.

What Is a Vehicle Privacy Report?

It’s a free lookup from a company called Privacy4Cars at vehicleprivacyreport.com. You type in your car’s 17-character VIN, which is on your registration and insurance card, and it shows what kinds of data the car’s maker says it collects, shares or sells. It takes about a minute.

How Do I Erase My Data Before I Sell My Car?

Use the factory reset option on the car’s screen, usually under Settings, to clear paired phones, contacts, saved addresses and garage door codes. Then remove the car from your account in the maker’s app and cancel any connected services, so the new owner can’t see your trips or control the car.