The High Cost of Remote Start: How Your Car App Feeds the Data Broker Machine
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A new study reveals that the 'convenience' of connected vehicle ecosystems is often a gateway for tech giants and advertisers to build deep consumer profiles.
I've always been skeptical of the 'smart' label when it comes to hardware. On a spec sheet, a remote-start app looks like a luxury; in practice, it often looks like a surveillance tool. Now, we have the data to back up that gut feeling.
As first reported by TechCrunch, a peer-reviewed study conducted by researchers at Northeastern University in partnership with Consumer Reports has exposed the vast scale of data leakage in modern vehicles. The team tested 21 late-model vehicles from 17 different automakers—including Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, Ford, Toyota, and GM brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac—along with 30 companion mobile apps.
**Opinion: The 'Convenience' Trap** From my perspective, the industry is selling us a Trojan horse. We are told that connected features like GPS and WiFi are for our benefit, but the study shows these features make it nearly impossible for consumers to maintain privacy unless they forgo the technology entirely. The most alarming part? The companion apps actually amplify the problem. TechCrunch reports that pairing a mobile app to the vehicle roughly doubled the exposure to tracking and advertising companies.
**The Data Pipeline** Out of the 21 vehicles tested, 19 sent traffic to at least one third party. Even more concerning, seven of the 30 apps analyzed handed over sensitive data—including phone numbers, emails, precise location, and vehicle identification numbers (VIN)—to third-party firms specializing in advertising and tracking.
When multiple pieces of sensitive information are sent to the same third party, it allows data brokers and advertisers to construct comprehensive profiles of the owner. TechCrunch notes that these profiles are particularly difficult to erase because they are sold to a variety of institutions, including banks and insurance companies.
**Who is Getting Your Data?** The study identifies several tech giants receiving this data, including: * Google * Meta * Microsoft * Adobe * Snap * Yahoo * ContentSquare
**The Industry Response** When confronted with these findings, the automakers' reactions were telling. TechCrunch reports that every manufacturer shifted the blame elsewhere—often onto the consumers themselves—with one exception: Honda. After learning about the study, Honda improved its data collection practices and ordered its vendor, Amplitude, to delete all received geolocation data.
Some automakers attempted to justify the data flow by telling Consumer Reports that certain links within their apps lead to external webpages, which may utilize cookies to collect data. Regardless of the technical mechanism, the reporting is clear: drivers were not informed that this was happening.