POPULAR MECHANICS: Your Car Is Spying On You, But For Whom?

Cars equipped with telematics systems such as OnStar or Hyundai Blue Link have two-way links to service providers that relay GPS data. The operators of these services do, indeed, have the ability to see where you are, how fast you’re going, and what state your car is in mechanically. They can also track and remotely disable a stolen vehicle. The Nissan Leaf uses a similar two-way connection to regularly send data on usage and location to Nissan, which the company uses for future electric vehicle development. But these services aren’t supposed to work without driver permission. The car can initiate a call in an emergency situation, such as when an airbag is deployed, but otherwise the driver must authorize an external connection to the vehicle.

Companies have been caught snooping, though.

They’ll keep it up unless it’s too expensive.