What your vehicle actually tracks

The confirmed case: GM & OnStar

This is the best-documented example, and the reason this became a national story. In March 2024, the New York Times reported that GM had been sharing driver data — collected through the OnStar “Smart Driver” program — with data brokers LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk Analytics, who in turn sold it to insurance companies. Drivers who’d never actively opted in saw insurance quotes rise or policies get cancelled based on driving-behavior scores they didn’t know existed. GM ended the program in April 2024.

In January 2025, the FTC finalized a 20-year consent order against GM and OnStar. Under that order GM must now get affirmative, opt-in consent before collecting connected-vehicle data, must let consumers see and delete what’s been collected, and must provide a way to disable precise geolocation collection and opt out of data collection entirely, independent of whether you keep OnStar service active.

What this means for you: if you drive a GM vehicle, check your myChevrolet / myGMC / myBuick / myCadillac app or account settings for a data-sharing / connected-services opt-out before doing anything to the hardware — it may already get you most of what you want.

Stellantis (Dodge / Ram / Chrysler / Jeep)

Uconnect-equipped vehicles use a Telematics Box Module (TBM) that handles cellular connectivity for crash notification, remote start/lock, vehicle health reports, and — on newer vehicles — usage-based data that can feed Stellantis’s own connected-services programs. Stellantis publishes a connected-vehicle privacy notice and offers data-sharing controls inside the Uconnect / My Uconnect account and app; Uconnect service can also be deactivated by calling Uconnect customer care and requesting the account and SIM be deactivated. That stops the subscription and most data upload, but the TBM hardware itself stays installed and can often be reactivated remotely unless it’s physically or electrically disabled — which is what our Dodge/Ram guide covers.

Ford / Lincoln

Ford vehicles with SYNC Connect use a Telematics Control Unit (TCU), frequently built into the APIM (Accessory Protocol Interface Module), to support the FordPass / Lincoln Way apps, remote start, vehicle location, and Ford’s own connected-data programs. Ford’s privacy portal (accessible through FordPass or ford.com’s privacy pages) lets owners view and limit data collection and delete stored vehicle data. As with Stellantis, a software/account opt-out stops the reporting Ford controls directly; it doesn’t physically disable the modem, which is the difference between an account setting and a hardware fix.

Account opt-out vs. hardware disable — which do you need?

• You just don’t want your data sold or used for insurance scoring: start with the manufacturer app/account opt-out and a written data-deletion request. It’s free, reversible, and doesn’t touch your vehicle’s wiring.
• You don’t trust the account setting, the vehicle was bought used and you can’t access the original owner’s account, or you want the hardware itself inert: that’s what our guides and local service are for.
• The tracker is there because of an active loan, lease, or fleet agreement: this isn’t the right resource — see our Terms.