19 Out of 21 Late-Model Cars Tested Shared Data with 3rd Parties
5 hours ago
- Nearly every automaker in the U.S. sends personal data from vehicles to third parties, according to a Northeastern University study.
- Tests on 21 vehicles and 30 companion apps found 19 vehicles transmitting data to third parties, often for advertising and tracking.
- Tesla and General Motors vehicles shared data at a much higher rate, with recipients including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.
- Automakers blamed third-party service contracts and consumer responsibility, but declining data sharing can disable key features like navigation.
- Honda was an exception, improving practices to prevent sending precise geolocation to tracking-related third parties.
- Researchers call for better transparency to address the gap between public disclosures and actual data sharing, which can be used by banks, insurers, etc.