Photo: Getty Images
Whether you realize it, or not, your smartphone is collecting all sorts of data about the way you drive just by riding along with you - and its likely that the carmaker of your car is collecting and selling that data to "third parties" like, LEXIS/NEXIS.
These third-parties, in some cases, may sell your data to insurance companies. Those insurers may use the data to review you for potential increases to your insurance premiums, or potentially to decline to cover you at all.
Things like acceleration, hard braking and speeding are among the data that can be collected.
Jerry Reynolds, host of the Car Pro Show, says this is not new, and its not at all transparent. Reynolds says all new cars come with apps and when we click "Agree" on installing them on our smartphones, we may be, inadvertently, agreeing to allow this data collection and sale to third parties. It may be very unclear how one could "opt out" of this agreement during the installation process.
To be clear, some consumers sign-up for insurance coverage that is based on how and when they use their cars that explicitly and overtly allow for data related to their driving to be collected.
Car makers like General Motors, Ford, Honda, Kia and Hyundai are among those that may be collecting and selling driver data.
Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts has recently urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate these practices on behalf of consumers.
Reynolds says he drives over 100 new cars per year of many different makes and that he too is investigating how to opt out of some of these apps so-called "features".
www.carpro.com