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Start with your parked car’s infotainment settings and look for Privacy, Data Sharing, Connected Vehicle, or Location Services. Then check the automaker’s app and account portal, review any separate app or insurance permissions, and confirm the exact steps in your owner’s manual. There is no universal switch: controls vary by make, model year, equipment, market, and connected-services package.
Before changing anything, identify your vehicle’s system
Write down the make, model, model year, market, infotainment system, and whether the vehicle is paired with an automaker app or connected-services account. These details matter: Ford says available permissions can vary by infotainment version and equipment, while GM qualifies some controls by model year. The instructions below are examples, not a guaranteed menu path for every vehicle.
Use the privacy notice and owner’s manual for your vehicle’s market. Ford’s and Toyota’s notices cited here cover the United States; Toyota says its notice covers the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii subject to qualifications and may not fully apply to some rental vehicles. Drivers elsewhere should consult their local notice and support guidance.
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- Park before navigating menus. Vehicle privacy settings may be unavailable while driving.
- Open Settings on the infotainment screen and look for labels such as Privacy, Data Sharing, Connected Vehicle, Location Services, Mobile Apps, or App Permissions. These are terms to search for, not standardized labels.
- Review each listed permission. On equipped Ford SYNC systems, examples include Vehicle Data, Driving Data, Vehicle Location, Convenience Controls, and Push Notifications. Ford says permissions may be changed individually when the vehicle is not being driven.
- Save the choice and check that it remains selected. If you cannot find a control, search the owner’s manual for “privacy,” “data sharing,” or the service name, or contact the automaker.
GM says some model year 2019-and-later vehicles may offer OnStar location controls under infotainment Privacy Settings. For model year 2025 and newer vehicles, GM describes consent and a pause control for specified exterior camera and sensor data collection. Availability and exact operation depend on the vehicle; consult GM’s U.S. Consumer Privacy Statement and the vehicle’s manual.
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Check the automaker app and account portal
In the automaker app or website, open the privacy or data-sharing controls and inspect the vehicles linked to your account. Removing an app from your phone is not the same as disconnecting the vehicle or revoking an account-linked service.
Ford and Lincoln account-linked services
Ford’s U.S. Privacy Notice, effective July 1, 2026, says deleting the Ford or Lincoln phone app alone does not disable vehicle data sharing. Ford describes removing the VIN from the account or app garage, or performing a master/factory reset, as ways to disconnect account-associated sharing. To remove remote access, all associated accounts must remove the vehicle. Follow the notice and the manual for your specific system before resetting.
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Toyota Connected Services
Toyota’s U.S. Connected Services Privacy Notice, updated July 1, 2026, says owners can opt out or request data-transmission deactivation through the Toyota App or the vehicle’s SOS button. Toyota describes this as affecting certain location, driving, vehicle-health, and account information. Its notice also describes connected features such as remote access, navigation assistance, and maintenance alerts, so consider which services you rely on before changing consent.
Check separate permissions and enrollments
One setting does not necessarily govern every data flow. Review each service you use and its own controls:
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- Third-party apps: A permission for an app connected through the infotainment system may be separate from the automaker’s own app and account-linked services.
- Location services: A location control is not necessarily a complete stop to all vehicle data collection. GM says specified emergency events may still result in geolocation collection after OnStar location services are disabled.
- Optional programs: Toyota describes opt-in usage-based auto insurance that can use driving data such as acceleration, speed, braking, and steering, as well as location data. Check the program’s enrollment and opt-out terms separately.
- Other sensor choices: GM describes exterior camera and sensor collection choices separately from location settings for specified newer vehicles.
For each control, note whether it is an app-specific permission, a location setting, an optional-program opt-out, a pause, or a broader account disconnection. They are not interchangeable. Toyota says deactivation stops collection or use of certain data and account information; its notice does not establish that every possible category of vehicle data is stopped in every circumstance.
Understand the likely trade-off before opting out
Connected services may support features such as remote access, navigation assistance, maintenance alerts, or convenience controls. Turning off a service can affect the features that depend on it, but the effect varies by vehicle and service. Check the feature description and privacy notice before changing a setting; do not assume a single privacy control disables every connected function.
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Verify the change and troubleshoot a missing setting
- After changing a control, reopen the infotainment setting or app page and confirm the choice is still saved.
- Check the account portal’s vehicle list and service status if you intended to disconnect account-linked access.
- If a setting is absent, search the exact model-year owner’s manual or ask the automaker’s support team whether the vehicle and service support that control.
- Do not modify or disconnect vehicle hardware based on a missing menu option; the cited manufacturer guidance supports software, app, account, and manual-based steps.
Account for stated exceptions. GM cautions that certain emergency events may still result in geolocation collection even after OnStar location services are disabled. Toyota characterizes its deactivation as applying to certain categories, not as a universal guarantee that all vehicle data collection ends.
Before selling, sharing, or buying a used connected car
Before transferring a vehicle, remove personal profiles and review connected accounts as well as the infotainment privacy settings. Ford recommends a master/factory reset before sale or transfer and after acquiring a pre-owned modem-equipped vehicle; Ford says its reset removes imported personal information and disconnects Ford/Lincoln accounts. Use the other manufacturer’s own transfer directions rather than assuming Ford’s reset process applies to other makes. Ford also advises that drivers be informed about the vehicle’s connectivity and privacy settings.
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Where to get the vehicle-specific instructions
Use the owner’s manual for the exact model year and infotainment system, then compare it with the privacy notice for your market and the app/account help for the service you use. The official notices explain what a control is intended to cover; the vehicle manual identifies whether and where it is available on your car. A useful principle, as Mozilla’s Lauren Hendry Parsons told the Associated Press, is: “There are permissions in your settings that you can make choices about. Go through on a granular level and look at those settings where you can.”
Quick Recap
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