OnStar data tracking, how it affects you
A new set of terms and conditions for OnStar, the General Motors-supported safety and connectivity system, is generating privacy concerns among some subscribers, many of whom have been historically sensitive to the potential for abuse. For years, some G.M. car and truck owners have posted elaborate instructions to Internet forums and user groups detailing how to disable built-in OnStar equipment to prevent any tracking of their vehicles.
Last week, OnStar sent e-mails notifying customers of changes in the company’s policies. Some customers say two changes in those terms were of particular concern from the standpoint of privacy. The first regards what happens when a customer cancels the service. Until now, when OnStar service stopped, so did the vehicle’s two-way communications system. As of Dec. 1, however, that will not necessarily be the case. Vehicles of owners who no longer subscribe could still be monitored via the system’s still-active two-way cellular link.
The second policy change concerns the potential use of the data collected by OnStar, which includes information like the vehicle’s speed and location, current odometer reading, driver seat-belt use and air-bag deployment. Under the new terms, OnStar reserves the right to share that information with other companies and organizations, even data culled from motorists who no longer subscribe to the service but who have left the two-way communications connection open.
