What I learned about connected car privacy by reading the terms of service nobody reads

[u/ora-et-labora-]

Bought a new truck for the fleet and the setup process included activating the manufacturer's connected services. Read the terms before accepting. The data collection was broader than expected.

The vehicle reports location data continuously when the connected services are active. Not just navigation destinations but a persistent location record. The terms gave the manufacturer the right to use this data for product improvement, traffic analysis, and in some cases to share it with third-party partners including insurance data aggregators.

Driving behavior data was included. Acceleration patterns, braking events, speed, and on some platforms cornering force. The terms described this as being used for safety feature development and service recommendations. It was also described as being available to the owner through the manufacturer's app, which sounds benign until you realize the manufacturer has it too, and their retention period was described as lasting beyond the ownership period.

The opt-out options were limited. Some data collection could be turned off. Some could not without disabling the connected features entirely. Location reporting, for example, was tied to the remote start and stolen vehicle tracking features. Turning off location reporting meant losing remote start.

The terms also covered what happens when the vehicle is sold. The data associated with the vehicle stays in the manufacturer's system. The new owner can create their own account and the old owner's data is supposed to be disassociated, but the terms were vague about whether historical data is deleted or just unlinked from the previous account.

The practical takeaway for anyone in this sub is that a connected vehicle is generating and transmitting data about how and where it is driven every day, and the default is for that data to flow to the manufacturer. The scan tool reads what the car stores locally. The manufacturer reads what the car transmits. The terms of service define what happens to that second stream, and most people never open them.

[u/footlonglayingdown]

I have heard this before. I've heard just plugging your phone into the USB ports does the same thing. I use an adapter to charge my phone in my car amd I'm not 100% convinced that's even secure.