Your Privacy Your Car May Be Watching How You Drive — What Factory-Installed Telematics Means for
Here are the top five takeaways from the blog below:
Your car may already be collecting driving data.
Factory-installed telematics can record information such as location, mileage, speed, hard braking, acceleration, cornering, seat-belt use and other driving events.The information can leave your vehicle.
Connected vehicles can transmit this data through the manufacturer's communication system. You may not have installed any separate device for this to happen.Driving data can potentially be used by insurers and data companies.
Telematics can provide insurers with information about actual driving behavior, potentially affecting usage-based insurance or how risk is evaluated.The GM/OnStar case shows why privacy matters.
The FTC alleged that GM collected and shared detailed location and driving-behavior information with consumer reporting agencies. The FTC's 2026 order imposed additional requirements concerning consent, data access, deletion and sharing.Consumers should know and control their data.
Before using connected-car services, drivers should find out what information is collected, who receives it, how long it is retained, whether it is shared with insurers or data brokers, and whether they can opt out.
Bottom line: The issue isn't whether telematics technology is good or bad. It's whether consumers know what their vehicle is collecting and have meaningful control over how that information is used.
Most of us think of the technology in our cars as something that makes driving safer and more convenient.
It can call 911 after a crash. It can provide navigation and traffic information. It can help locate a stolen vehicle. It can remind us when our vehicle needs service.
But there is another capability that many drivers may not realize their newer vehicle has: factory-installed telematics.
Telematics is technology that allows a vehicle to collect and transmit information about how, when and where the vehicle is driven.
And that raises an important question:
Who gets that information, and what can they do with it?
What is factory-installed telematics?
Unlike an insurance device that you plug into the diagnostic port under your dashboard, factory-installed telematics is built into the vehicle by the manufacturer.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) explains that telematics can be integrated into a vehicle as original equipment installed by the manufacturer. Telematics systems can collect information such as miles driven, time of day, location, rapid acceleration, hard braking, hard cornering and airbag deployment.
The vehicle can transmit that information through its built-in communications system.
In other words, you don't necessarily have to install anything for your vehicle to be capable of collecting and transmitting driving information.
What kind of information can be collected?
The answer depends on the vehicle, manufacturer and particular service.
Potential information can include:
Vehicle location
Speed
Mileage
Time and duration of trips
Hard braking
Rapid acceleration
Hard cornering
Seat-belt use
Airbag deployment
Ignition events
Vehicle identification information
Some systems can collect location information at very frequent intervals.
The Federal Trade Commission's investigation of General Motors provides a striking example. The FTC alleged that GM's OnStar Smart Driver system collected information including hard acceleration, hard braking, speeds over 80 mph, seat-belt use, ignition events, precise location, timestamps and vehicle identification information.
That is considerably more information than simply knowing how many miles you drove.
Why would an insurance company want this information?
Insurance companies have always tried to determine how likely a driver is to have an accident.
Traditionally, they have relied on factors such as driving history, age, location, vehicle type and claims history.
Telematics offers something new: information about how the vehicle is actually being driven.
Usage-based insurance programs can use telematics to evaluate driving behavior. The NAIC identifies factors such as mileage, time of day, location, rapid acceleration, hard braking and hard cornering as information that can be used in these programs.
In theory, that can work to a driver's advantage.
A careful driver who drives relatively few miles and avoids aggressive driving may be able to qualify for a lower premium.
But there is another side to the equation.
If an insurer or data company receives information showing frequent hard braking, speeding, nighttime driving or other behaviors associated with higher risk, that information could potentially affect how the driver is evaluated.
The GM/OnStar case should get everyone's attention
This isn't just a theoretical privacy concern.
General Motors' OnStar Smart Driver program became the subject of a Federal Trade Commission investigation.
The FTC alleged that GM collected precise location and driving-behavior information from millions of vehicles and provided information to consumer reporting agencies. According to the FTC, the information included driving events such as hard braking, hard acceleration and speeding. The FTC alleged that the information could be used by insurance companies to determine rates.
GM discontinued Smart Driver in 2024 and said it had ended its relationships with LexisNexis and Verisk concerning the program.
In January 2026, the FTC finalized its order with GM and OnStar. Among other requirements, the order requires affirmative express consent for certain collection, use and sharing of connected-vehicle data and provides consumers with additional rights concerning access, deletion and opting out of certain data collection. The order also prohibits GM from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies for five years.
That should get our attention.
This isn't an argument against technology
I am not opposed to technology in automobiles.
Quite the opposite.
Telematics can provide tremendous benefits. It can help emergency responders, assist with stolen-vehicle recovery, provide maintenance information and potentially encourage safer driving.
Usage-based insurance can also give responsible drivers another way to demonstrate that they are lower-risk drivers.
The issue is informed consent and control of personal information.
A driver should know what information the vehicle is collecting, where that information goes, who can receive it, how long it is retained and whether it can be used to make decisions about the driver.
Your car can know more about you than you realize
Think about what a detailed driving history could reveal.
If a vehicle is reporting its location and driving behavior, a detailed record could potentially show:
Where you go.
When you leave home.
When you return.
Where you work.
How often you travel.
How fast you drive.
How aggressively you accelerate or brake.
That information can create a remarkably detailed picture of someone's daily routine.
The issue isn't whether that information can be useful.
It is whether the vehicle owner understands that the information is being collected and has meaningful control over what happens to it.
What should consumers do?
If you own a newer connected vehicle, I encourage you to find out what your vehicle is capable of collecting.
Read the manufacturer's privacy policy and connected-services agreement.
Find out:
What data does my vehicle collect?
Is precise location being collected?
Is driving behavior being recorded?
Is the information transmitted outside the vehicle?
Who receives the information?
Can the information be provided to insurance companies or data brokers?
How long is it retained?
Can I opt out?
If I opt out, what features will I lose?
Can I request a copy of the information collected about my vehicle?
These are reasonable questions for every vehicle owner to ask.
Where I stand
I believe technology should make our lives safer and better—not quietly create a permanent record of our lives without our knowledge.
There is nothing wrong with an insurance company offering a voluntary program that rewards safe driving.
There is something very different about a consumer discovering that information generated by a vehicle they purchased has been collected, shared or used to influence important financial decisions without their clear understanding and consent.
The recent experience with GM and OnStar demonstrates why transparency matters.
As a candidate for Poway City Council, I believe the principle is straightforward:
Technology should serve the people—not the other way around.
We should welcome technology that improves public safety, makes our roads safer and gives consumers useful choices.
But we should also protect the fundamental principle that people have a right to know what information is being collected about them, who has it, and how it is being used.
Innovation and privacy should not be opposing goals. With transparency, informed consent and reasonable safeguards, we can have both.