Your data
Where your car's data actually goes
Updated October 2026
Your car's data doesn't stop at the automaker. Here's every stop it can make, and how to see what each one has on you.
Short answer
The car’s telematics modem sends data to the automaker. From there it can reach data brokers who sell driving reports to insurers, tech and ad companies through the companion app, law enforcement through legal process, and the next owner if you don’t wipe the car.
Stop 1: The automaker
- Location and trips: GPS position, routes, where trips start and end.
- Driving behavior: speed, hard braking, rapid acceleration, late-night driving, mileage.
- Vehicle health: fuel or battery level, odometer, diagnostic codes, tire pressure.
In 2023, Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included review called cars the worst product category it had ever reviewed for privacy.
Stop 2: Data brokers and insurers
Automakers have passed driving data to brokers who package it into reports for insurers. LexisNexis Risk Solutions runs a driving-data exchange; Verisk has shut down a similar product. GM’s Smart Driver program led to an FTC order and a $12.75 million California settlement. The full story.
Stop 3: Tech and advertising companies
In a September 2026 Northeastern University and Consumer Reports study, 19 of 21 cars sent data to at least one third party, and 7 of 30 companion apps sent identifying data like VINs, emails, phone numbers, or precise location to tracking and ad companies. More on the study.
Stop 4: Law enforcement
Police can request data from automakers through legal process, and can pull data from the car itself with forensic tools. Can police track your car?
Stop 5: The next owner
Synced contacts, call history, saved places, and garage-door codes stay in the infotainment system until you wipe them. Before you sell or trade in, factory-reset it and remove the car from your connected-services account. What the car keeps from your phone.
See what they have, and delete it
- The automaker: GM, Ford, and Stellantis have privacy request pages for seeing and deleting data tied to your VIN.
- The brokers: request your free LexisNexis consumer disclosure report, and dispute anything wrong.
- Your state: more states give residents deletion and opt-out rights. California residents can use the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).
To keep the data from leaving the car at all, see how to stop your car from tracking you.
Keep it from leaving the car
Every stop on this list starts with the modem. Our $35 guides show how to disable it on GM, Ram/Jeep/Dodge, and Ford vehicles, reversibly.
Common questions
+Who owns the data my car collects?
There's no single federal answer in the U.S. The automaker holds it under its privacy policy, and several states now give residents rights to see it, delete it, and stop its sale. In practice, assume the automaker controls it until you use those rights.
+Can I find out which companies got my data?
Partly. A privacy request to the automaker should disclose categories of recipients, and the LexisNexis consumer disclosure shows what that broker holds. The full chain of every company an app contacted is rarely disclosed in one place.
+Does selling my car delete the data the automaker has?
No. Wiping the infotainment system clears the car, not the manufacturer's servers or broker reports. Those need separate deletion requests.