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You can reduce the location and driving data your car shares by checking three places: the vehicle’s privacy settings, your automaker account and app, and any paired-phone or third-party app permissions. Turn off optional location, analytics, and data-sharing choices you do not want, then use the automaker’s privacy channel to ask what data it holds and whether you can request deletion or limit its use. There is no universal menu path, and disabling sharing can affect connected features.

First, find out what is connected

Before changing settings, identify the services and accounts associated with your specific vehicle. Collection depends on its equipment, software, settings, and active services—not just the badge on the hood. Ford, for example, says these factors affect what it collects in its U.S. privacy notice, effective July 1, 2026: Ford Privacy Policy.

  • Check the owner’s manual and the manufacturer’s privacy notice for your country.
  • On the infotainment screen, look for connected-services or privacy information.
  • Check whether a telematics subscription, remote-control app, navigation account, driver-scoring feature, or insurance-related service is active.
  • Note paired phones, third-party apps, and separate driver profiles. A previous owner or another driver may have configured services under a different account.

Keep the make, model year, infotainment system, region, and service subscriptions in mind as you follow the steps below; choices and labels can vary even within one brand.

Turn off optional sharing in the car

Look in the infotainment system for sections named Privacy, Data Sharing, Connected Services, Vehicle Data, Location, or Driving Analytics. The wording and menu path depend on the vehicle. Use its manual or manufacturer support to verify the current route rather than relying on instructions for a different model year or screen.

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Review each choice and disable optional location, driving-behavior, diagnostic, or other data sharing you do not want. Also inspect permissions for individual apps in the vehicle: an app may exchange vehicle, driving, or location information separately from a general sharing control. Ford says available permissions can differ by infotainment equipment; Tesla’s privacy notice describes touchscreen data-sharing choices for some vehicle data categories: Tesla Privacy Notice.

A toggle may control a particular use or disclosure rather than stop every type of collection. Read the explanation beside the setting, especially if it refers to a feature or service rather than data collection as a whole.

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Check the automaker account and phone apps

Open the automaker’s app or website and review connected-service enrollment, consent, location sharing, and account privacy settings. Remove services you no longer use, where the account offers that option. Check app permissions on your phone as well: turning off a vehicle setting does not necessarily change what an app on the phone is allowed to access.

For a shared car, review each driver profile and paired device. Tell other drivers which services remain active and agree on the settings; one person’s account changes may not update another profile or a separate app.

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Ask what data the manufacturer holds

Use the automaker’s privacy portal or app to request a copy of vehicle-related personal data and, if available in your situation, ask for deletion or limits on its collection, use, or sharing. Keep a record of what you submitted and the response. The request process and rights depend on the company and your jurisdiction; state privacy laws differ, and people outside the United States should consult the notice and laws applicable where they live.

The Associated Press reports that automakers may handle requests through web forms or apps and describes Privacy4Cars as an optional service that can help identify privacy practices and locate or submit requests: Associated Press: One Tech Tip—Modern cars are spying on you. Here’s what you can do about it. Privacy4Cars is a private service, not a regulator or an official government request channel.

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Know what turning sharing off can change

Features that rely on connected data may stop working or become less useful. Depending on the vehicle and subscription, this can include remote app controls, location-based services, navigation, or roadside assistance. Check the vehicle’s own explanation before confirming a choice.

Also, an “off” setting is not a promise of zero data collection or disclosure. Manufacturer notices and applicable law may treat safety, emergencies, security, legal demands, or protection of property separately. Read the relevant notice to understand what remains permitted.

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What the FTC’s GM and OnStar order changes—and what it does not

On January 14, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced a finalized order resolving allegations involving GM and OnStar. It requires affirmative express consent for covered collection, use, or sharing of connected-vehicle data, subject to exceptions; provides U.S. consumers a way to request a copy of data and seek deletion; requires disabling precise-geolocation collection where vehicle technology allows; and provides a way to opt out of geolocation and driving-behavior collection, also subject to exceptions. The order also bars specified disclosures to consumer reporting agencies for five years. Its choice and transparency requirements apply for the order’s 20-year duration: FTC: Finalizes Order Settling Allegations that GM and OnStar Collected and Sold Geolocation Data Without Consumers’ Informed Consent.

Those are obligations concerning GM and OnStar, not a universal rule or menu setting for every automaker. The FTC has separately warned that connected-car location and biometric data can be sensitive and that their collection, use, and disclosure can create privacy and financial-welfare risks: FTC: Cars & Consumer Data—On Unlawful Collection & Use. For your own vehicle, the practical controls remain its settings, account, applicable privacy rights, and the terms of its connected services.

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