Connected cars are sharing driver data: what you need to know
By Areeb Khan
Modern connected cars can collect and share a wide range of driver and vehicle data, raising growing concerns over privacy, data ownership and how automakers use this information.
Northeastern University ke researchers ne 19 different brands ki 21 vehicles ko test kiya and they found that almost all of these vehicles were sending data to outside companies, often without the drivers even knowing that this was happening. Researchers ne in vehicles ko unke companion smartphone apps ke saath pair kiya, jiske through ye check kiya gaya ki vehicle se related data exactly kahan or kaise share kiya jaa raha tha. Nicole Zagson, jo Northeastern mein cybersecurity ki doctoral candidate hai or is study ki co-author bhi hai, unhone isko kaafi directly explain kiya hai, whether consumers ko iski awareness ho ya nahi, big tech companies abb un vehicles ka bhi ek big part ban chuki hai jinhe hum daily drive karte hai. Study ke findings sirf car tak limited nahi hai, rather aapke smartphone par installed app tak bhi iska impact dekha jaa sakta hai. Data from connected vehicles was provided to external companies
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Researchers ne apne tests organization ke Auto Test Center in Connecticut mein conduct kiye, jo October 2024 se August 2025 ke between mein kiye gaye the. Testing ke during each vehicle ka network traffic log kiya gaya jab woh idle condition mein parked tha, after that researchers ne vehicles mein available every feature ko use karke dekha. Other than this vehicles ko different driving conditions mein bhi test kiya gaya, jahan speeds 5 se lekar 45 mph tak rakhi gayi thi. Testing ke during 21 cars mein se 19 cars ne Wi-Fi ke through at least one third-party ke saath contact kiya, so yahan par researchers ne yeh check kiya ki vehicles actually kis tarah se external system ke saath communicate kar rahe hai. Researchers ne 11 electric vehicles ko ek car sized Faraday enclosure ke beech bhi drive kiya, jahan cellular signals ko completely block kar diya gaya tha. After that yeh check kiya gaya ki cellular traffic block hone ke baad kya yeh communication simply Wi-Fi ke through reroute ho jaata hai ya nahi. Starting with the vehicles which were found to be sending data to the widest range of outside advertising and analytics companies, so first aap notice kar payenge that this list includes the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolt Blazer, Lucid Air and then both Tesla Model 3 and Cyberturck. Interestingly, iss list mein traditional or old-guard automakers ke vehicles ke saath newer EV manufacturers ke models bhi include hai. This shows that the practice is not limited to one particular type of automakers or business model, rather different companies across the automotive industry can be seen following similar data-sharing practices. Vehicles telemetry ki baat karein so yeh basically woh stream of data hota hai jo car apne systems or surroundings ke outside continuously send karti hai, however yeh data us information se different hota hai jo paired smartphone app collect karti hai. Car manufacturers driver data ko kis tarah gather karte hai, agar uski detail mein dekha jaaye so yeh practice koi new thing nahi hai. In fact, driver data collection ka yeh process kaafi years se build ho raha hai, well before this study directly measured and analysed the practice. Names, VPNs, and locations disclosed by companion apps
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Study ke app side ki baat karein so yahan par researchers ne kuch or sharper findings saamne rakhi hai. Researchers ne 30 companion mobile apps ko test kiya, and inmein se 28 apps ne at least ek outside advertising ya analytics company ke saath data share kiya, according to the published results. Means majority of the apps mein third-party companies ke saath data sharing dekhi jaa sakti hai, jo is study ka ek important finding ban kar saamne aati hai. App side ki baat karein so study mein or bhi sharper findings saamne aayi hai. Researchers ne 30 companion mobile apps ko test kiya, or inmein se 28 apps ne data send kiya. Tested apps mein roughly one-fourth apps ne personally identifiable information bhi transmit ki, jisme owners ke names, vehicle identification numbers means VINs or precise location jaise details include hai. Yeh anonymized engineering data se completely different category mein aata hai. Agar VIN ko kisi owner ke name or address ke saath link kar diya jaaye, so ek specific driver ko identify karna possible ho jaata hai and uske daily movements ko bhi track kiya jaa sakta hai. General Motors ki baat karein so unke four apps, myCadillac, myChevrolet, myBuick and myGMC, were found pairing VINs with either an email address or location data. Ford ki telematics practices bhi separately headlines mein aa chuki hai after the automaker started driving data with insurers, which is a remainder that the app layer and insurance layer ke beech bhi overlap delha jaa sakta hai. Sarah Elizabeth Gillespie, who is one of the co-authors of the study, unke according testing se yeh suggest hota hai ki at present is practice se bachne ka koi real way nahi hai. Unhone kaha ki it does not appear that a customer can buy a new car that does not track you. Researchers ne yeh bhi notice kiya hai ki most drivers jab vehicle app ko setup karte hai so jo terms and conditions accept karte hai, unhe kabhi properly read nahi karte. Means technically customer ka consent liya jaa raha hai. but in reality drivers ko is baat ki bahut kam awareness hoti hai ki unka data actually share bhi kiya jaa raha hai. Big Tech firms emerged as data recipients
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Companies ki baat karein so yahan par aap notice kar payenge that the names include some of the biggest advertising platforms on the internet. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Pinterest, Snap and Yahoo jaise names dekhe jaa sakte hai, all of which appeared among the top recipients of driver data across the tested vehicles and apps. Kuch automakers ne researchers ko bataya that unke contracts third parties ko unke paas receive hone wale data ko resell karne ya independently reuse karne se restrict karte hai. However, study ke authors ka kehna hai that in contractual limits ko outside se verify karna kaafi difficult tha, and unhe in restrictions ke actual enforcement ko lekar very few evidence dekhne ko mile. Modern car mein connected features ki baat karein so every feature ko lekar same concerns nahi hote hai. Kaafi saare onboard sensors aise bhi hote hai jo purely safety or driver assistance ke liye use kiye jaate hai. Vehicle ke inside data collect hona ek different thing hai, but jab yahi personal data car se bahar jaata hai so after that exactly wo data kahan jaata hai and how it is being used, yeh ek completely separate question hai. Researchers ne apne work ko 21 vehicles or 30 apps ka ek snapshot describe kiya hai. Jin systems ko unhone test kiya, wo is study ke measure karne se kaafi pehle se hi roads par use mein the, which leaves an open question ki other markets mein situation exactly kaisi hai. News Source: Motor1.com