Car is a smartphone on wheels. Here's who's listening
3 hours ago
- This is the first large-scale measurement study of the connected-vehicle ecosystem, examining privacy implications.
- Researchers partnered with Consumer Reports to test 21 late-model vehicles and 30 companion mobile apps.
- Connected cars constantly communicate with manufacturers and third parties via built-in internet access, sending private consumer data.
- Data flows from vehicles and apps to first- and third-party servers, often without meaningful consumer control.
- Experiments included capturing vehicle Wi-Fi traffic with a custom access point and using a Faraday tent to block cellular signals, testing whether traffic reroutes to Wi-Fi.
- The findings highlight the need for continued measurement and scrutiny of data sharing in the connected-vehicle ecosystem.
- Manufacturer responses were documented as part of the study, and the work is peer-reviewed and set to be published at IMC '26.