When Your Car Becomes the Spy: Toyota, Nissan, GM, and Tesla, the Privacy Collapse

Oliver Klothshauf
5 hours ago
6 min read

Car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles

Tesla failed. Nissan failed. GM failed. Others are following. Not on horsepower, not on safety ratings, not on the glossy marketing campaigns that promise freedom and innovation. They failed on the one thing that defines whether technology serves you or exploits you: privacy.

The result?

Insurance premiums doubled. Not because you drove recklessly, but because your car sold you out. The machine you bought to carry your family, your groceries, your legacy — turned into a data broker. And the brands you trusted are hiding far more than you think.

The Hidden Computers in Your Driveway

Modern vehicles are no longer mechanical machines with a few wires and relays. They are rolling data centers. A typical car today carries 60 or more onboard computers, each one quietly logging, transmitting, and storing information.

Your location is broadcast 24/7. Multiple cameras point inward, some angled directly at your face. Microphones capture conversations. Sensors track not just how you drive, but how your body responds while driving.

And the scope of what’s collected is staggering. It’s not just speed, braking, or GPS routes. Automakers are harvesting biometric data, genetic markers, even indicators tied to sexual activity expressed in the cabin. Immigration status, union membership, health records — all swept up, stored permanently, and locked away on servers you will never see, never control, and never delete.

The Industry Numbers They Don’t Want You to Read

This isn’t a rogue experiment by one or two companies. It’s systemic. Independent audits show:

84% of auto brands share your data with outside companies
76% sell it outright to brokers and advertisers
56% hand it over to law enforcement without a warrant

That last number should stop you cold. An informal request — not a subpoena, not a court order — can give police access to months of your private life. Where you drove. Who you visited. What time you left. What time you came home.

This isn’t accidental. It’s the business model. It's the privacy collapse.

The $750 Billion Market for Your Life

McKinsey’s projection of a $750 billion vehicle data market by 2030 wasn’t just a forecast — it was a blueprint. Automakers saw the writing on the wall: they weren’t simply selling cars anymore, they were selling you. Every mile driven, every stop made, every pause at a red light became a data point in a system designed to monetize your existence.

Data August 12 2022 - pg 12 Big Brother isnt the only one watching

Think about the scale. A simple grocery run doesn’t just end at the checkout. Your vehicle logs the trip, timestamps the stop, and transmits the data. That information is then purchased by insurance companies eager to justify rate hikes, arguing that your “patterns” suggest higher risk. Data brokers scoop up the same logs, weaving them into profiles that link your driving habits to your shopping routines. Advertisers buy access to those profiles, targeting you based on where your car has been parked, or even predicting where you’re likely to drive next.

This isn’t a passive collection. It’s an active marketplace where your life is the commodity. The car you own becomes the middleman, selling your movements to the highest bidder. And the most disturbing part? You don’t get a cut. You don’t even get a choice.

Consent is a mirage. The privacy policies that supposedly protect you are written to be unreadable — five to seven hours of dense legal text requiring graduate‑level comprehension. Opt‑out mechanisms are buried, if they exist at all. Less than 12% of dealerships even mention data sharing at the point of sale. The system is designed to keep you uninformed, because informed customers might say no.

And so, without your knowledge, without your permission, and without any meaningful way to opt out, your car becomes a subscription service you never signed up for — one where the product isn’t horsepower or reliability, but your private life.

Breaches, Ransomware, and the Cybercrime Jackpot

If the business model wasn’t bad enough, the execution is worse. Data breaches are constant. In June 2025, one breach exposed 8.4 million users’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and car registration details.

The industry lost $538 million to ransomware in a single year. Your car is now a prime cybercriminal target. The same systems designed to track your life can be hijacked to exploit it.

GM and the Insurance Trap

General Motors was caught sharing driving data directly with insurance companies. The fallout was immediate: drivers found it harder to secure coverage, and when they did, rates were significantly higher.

Think about that. You’re signing away your privacy without realizing it. And here’s why:

Privacy policies average five to seven hours of reading time.
They require graduate‑level comprehension to fully understand.
Fewer than 12% of dealerships mention data sharing at the point of sale.

The system is designed to keep you uninformed. Complexity is the camouflage.

What Can You Actually Do?

Privacy experts now recommend buying older, non‑connected vehicles as the only way to avoid surveillance. But most people need modern safety features, reliability, and efficiency.

So the solution isn’t just nostalgia. It requires a bigger shift in how we think about data protection.

For some people, that's just not an option. No matter your beliefs, or delusions, good chance your wife doesn't want a lifted '94 Bronco on 40's.. at the same time, don't think just because your vehicle doesn't offer Apple Car-Play unless you buy the premium package that you're vehicle is above any capabilities of data collection.

You can start by seeing what your car is equipped to collect using Privacy4Cars' Vehicle Privacy Report," once you enter your car's VIN, the site provides a rough idea of what sorts of data your car collects.

12° North recommends starting with the basics: review the data policies tied to your vehicle and any connected phone apps. Look for settings labeled Data Privacy or Data Usage. Whenever possible, opt out of sharing information with third parties or for behavioral advertising. Beyond that, it’s worth submitting a formal request to your automaker to see exactly what data has already been collected.

Disable your ad tracking ID on your mobile device

And speaking of phones, 12° North also stresses the importance of disabling ad tracking on the devices you carry. Even if you lock down your vehicle, your phone can undo those efforts by broadcasting location and behavioral data to advertisers and brokers. Avoiding monitoring, tagging, and tracking is an ongoing battle in the modern world, and it requires vigilance across every system you use.

We need vehicles designed with intentional transparency — systems that give you control over what’s collected, how it’s stored, and who it’s shared with. We need contracts that are readable in minutes, not hours or days. We need infrastructure that treats your data as yours, not as a commodity to be sold.

The 12° North Perspective

We believe engineering should never compromise autonomy. Every system — whether mechanical or digital — must be designed to serve the user, not exploit them. In vehicles, that principle is more urgent than ever, because modern cars are no longer just machines; they are surveillance platforms on wheels.

The automotive industry has inverted the promise of engineering. Instead of building for resilience and trust, it has built for data extraction. Privacy was not engineered into the system — it was engineered out of it. What should be tools of freedom have become instruments of monitoring, broadcasting your location, your habits, even your biometric signals, often without your knowledge or consent.

The path forward isn’t about rejecting technology. It’s about demanding systems that respect autonomy. Just as we design fuel systems to handle future horsepower goals, we must demand that vehicle data systems are architected to handle future privacy goals — transparent, accountable, and under the driver’s control.

Closing Thought

Your car should be a tool of freedom, not a spy in your driveway. The brands failed the test. The question now is whether we accept that failure as the new normal, or whether we demand something better.

Because freedom doesn’t end when someone’s feelings get hurt. It ends when systems are built to monitor, monetize, and manipulate without your consent. And that’s the line we refuse to cross.