Your Car Has Been Tracking and Selling Your Driving Data

Your Car Is Watching You

General Motors just settled with California for over $12 million in the state's largest privacy fine under the California Consumer Privacy Act. The reason? GM collected detailed driving data from millions of customers and sold it to insurance companies and data brokers without proper consent. If you drive a modern vehicle, this affects you too.

The Details

Here's what happened. GM equipped millions of vehicles with connected car technology that tracked everything: your speed, location, braking patterns, acceleration habits, and the routes you took. The company then packaged this information and sold it to data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk Analytics, who turned around and sold it to insurance companies.

Many drivers never realized they had enrolled in these tracking programs. Some thought they were signing up for helpful features like navigation or remote start. Others checked a box buried in lengthy terms of service without understanding what they were agreeing to. The data collection happened silently in the background, every single time they drove.

The impact was real and financial. Insurance companies used this data to create detailed risk profiles of drivers. Some people saw their insurance rates increase based on driving behavior their insurer obtained from GM, not from any accident or ticket. They had no idea why their premiums went up until investigative reporters uncovered the data sharing pipeline.

Who Is Affected

If you own or lease a vehicle made in the last five years, especially one with a touchscreen, smartphone app, or connected features, your car likely collects data about you. GM isn't alone in this practice. Most major automakers including Ford, Honda, Hyundai, and others have similar connected car programs.

Families should pay particular attention if you have teen drivers. Many parents use built-in monitoring features to track young drivers, but that same data may be flowing to third parties. Seniors who upgraded to newer vehicles for safety features may be unknowingly sharing their driving patterns with companies they've never heard of.

What You Should Do Right Now

1. Check your vehicle's privacy settings today. Look in your car's infotainment system under Settings, Privacy, or Data Collection. Turn off any data sharing options you find.

The Bigger Picture

This GM settlement reveals an uncomfortable truth about modern technology. Companies increasingly treat personal information as a product to harvest and sell. Your car, your phone, your smart TV, and your home devices all collect data that companies monetize. The default setting is almost always maximum data collection, and consumers must actively opt out to protect their privacy. Staying informed about these practices is the first step in protecting your family's digital life.

How GetCyberRight Can Help

Understanding what data companies collect about you can feel overwhelming. Our GCR Data Shield tool helps families identify what information is being gathered across all your connected devices, including vehicles. It provides step-by-step guidance on reducing your data exposure and walks you through privacy settings for cars, phones, and smart home devices. You don't need to be a tech expert to take control of your family's privacy.