Modern cars are spying on you. Here's what you can do about it

Summary

While driving to a new restaurant, your car’s satellite navigation system tracks your location and guides you to the destination. Onboard cameras constantly track your face and eye movements. When another car veers into your path, forcing you to slam on the brakes, sensors are assisting and recording. Waiting at a stoplight, the car notices when you unbuckle your seat belt to grab your sunglasses in the backseat. Modern cars are computers on wheels that are becoming increasingly connected, enabling innovative new features that make driving safer and more convenient. But these systems are also collecting reams of data on our driving habits and other personal information, raising concerns about data privacy. Here is what to know about how your car spies on you and how you can minimize it: How cars collect data It’s hard to figure out exactly how much data a modern car is collecting on you, according to the Mozilla Foundation, which analyzed privacy practices at 25 auto brands in 2023. It declared that cars were the worst product category that the group had ever reviewed for privacy. AP AUDIO: One Tech Tip: Modern cars are spying on you. Here’s what you can do about it Modern cars are spying on you. AP’s Kelvin Chan reports. The data points include all your normal interactions with the car — such as turning the steering wheel or unlocking doors — but also data from connected onboard services, like satellite radio, GPS navigation systems, connected devices, telematics systems as well as data from sensors or cameras. Vehicle telematics systems started to become commonplace about a decade ago, and the practice of automotive data collection took off about five years ago. The problem is not just that data is being collected but who it’s provided to, including insurers, marketing companies and shadowy data brokers. The issue surfaced earlier this year when General Motors was banned for five years from disclosing data collected from drivers to consumer reporting agencies. The...