Your Car Is Spying on You: BBC Uncovers Hidden Data Risks

Your Car Is Spying on You: BBC Uncovers Hidden Data Risks

Your car tracks your face, weight, emotions, who your passengers are, and your every destination. Alarmingly, reports say automakers are quietly selling that data!
LS
Linsey Smith
May 19, 2026
1 min read

Modern cars collect a startling range of personal data, from precise location and driving habits to weight, age, and even facial expressions, according to a May 2026 BBC investigation. Insurance companies are among the biggest buyers of this information, using it to adjust premiums—sometimes raising them significantly. A 2023 Mozilla review of 25 car brands found that every single one failed the organisation’s privacy and security standards, prompting Mozilla to label cars “the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy”.

Automakers often sell driving data to brokers like LexisNexis, which can compile hundreds of pages of trip details over months. The US Federal Trade Commission has barred General Motors from selling vehicle data for five years after it allegedly shared location information without consent. A forthcoming federal mandate will require new cars to install infrared biometric cameras to detect driver impairment, yet the law includes no provisions limiting how the resulting health and behaviour data can be used. With no comprehensive national privacy law in the US and piecemeal state protections, experts warn the situation will likely worsen.

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