Connected Cars Expose Driver Data to Ad Tech
Research finds connected vehicles and companion apps routinely transmit user and vehicle data to outside technology companies.
Connected cars are increasingly behaving like mobile computing platforms, but drivers often have far less visibility into how their data moves through the ecosystem.
What happened
Researchers examined 21 vehicles from 17 automakers and 30 companion apps and found extensive sharing of vehicle and user information with outside technology companies.
Nineteen of the 21 tested cars communicated with at least one third party. Some companion apps transmitted information including vehicle identification numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and precise location.
The findings highlight the number of external services involved in operating modern connected-car platforms.
Why it matters
Vehicle data can reveal far more than basic product usage. Location, driving patterns, identity and behavioural information can become highly sensitive when combined.
Unlike smartphones, cars often provide fewer visible privacy controls and may be shared among multiple drivers.
The issue will become more important as automakers add AI assistants, personalised services and subscription features that require even richer data.
The bigger picture
The automotive industry is turning cars into software platforms.
That creates new recurring revenue opportunities, but it also imports the privacy problems of consumer technology into an environment where users may not realise how much data is being collected or where it goes.