Connected Cars Transforming Into Data Pipelines for Big Tech
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
A new study reveals that 17 automakers are funneling driver data to advertising and tracking giants, often without consumer knowledge.
A peer-reviewed study conducted by researchers at Northeastern University in partnership with Consumer Reports has exposed the scale of data harvesting within the connected vehicle ecosystem, as TechCrunch first reported. After testing 21 late-model vehicles from 17 automakers—including Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, Ford, Toyota, and GM brands Chevrolet and Cadillac—researchers found that 19 of the 21 vehicles sent data to at least one third party.
The investigation, which also analyzed 30 companion mobile apps, found that sensitive information including phone numbers, emails, precise location, and vehicle identification numbers (VIN) were shared with third-party companies specializing in advertising and tracking. TechCrunch reports that this data is being shared with tech giants including Meta, Google, Microsoft, Snap, Yahoo, Adobe, and ContentSquare. The study noted that pairing a vehicle with its companion app roughly doubled a consumer's exposure to these tracking companies, allowing data brokers and insurers to build detailed consumer profiles.
According to TechCrunch, drivers were not informed about this data collection. When confronted with the findings, most manufacturers shifted blame to consumers or other parties, with Honda being the sole exception. Honda responded by improving its data practices and ordering its vendor, Amplitude, to delete all received geolocation data. Some automakers told Consumer Reports that data collection may occur via cookies on external webpages opened through companion apps.