Study finds most new cars and apps silently share driver data with tech firms
Research by Northeastern University and Consumer Reports shows that the majority of recent car models and their companion apps transmit user information to third-party tracking and marketing companies.
A joint investigation by Northeastern University in Massachusetts and Consumer Reports examined 21 recent-model cars from 17 automakers along with 30 associated smartphone applications. The study found that 19 of the vehicles transmitted data to at least one non-manufacturer entity, and seven apps disclosed sensitive details such as unique identification numbers, email addresses, telephone numbers and exact GPS coordinates to tracking and marketing firms.
Major tech corporations were the primary recipients, with Alphabet leading, followed by Amazon, Spotify, Microsoft, Meta and Cloudflare. Tesla's Model 3 and Cybertruck topped the list of data-heavy models, whereas a Mercedes and a Buick model were the most privacy-conservative. Attempts to opt out of Tesla's data collection trigger warnings that vehicle functions may be limited or cause "serious damage," underscoring a gap between automakers' disclosures and actual data practices.
Why it matters
Consumers may be unaware that their cars and apps are feeding personal data to major tech companies, raising privacy risks.
In this story
