These apps track your driving habits and sell that information to
insurance companies
Some are seemingly innocent-looking apps like mileage trackers
A hot potato: Many were surprised to learn that connected vehicles
collect data about drivers and sell that information to insurance
companies. As it turns out, so do apps on a driver's smartphone. Most
drivers are unaware that this is even happening.
Earlier this year, the New York Times dropped a bomb on drivers of
connected vehicles: manufacturers collect and sell their driving data
to insurance companies, which use the information to set rates for
individual drivers. Now, a new report shows that this type of data
collection is more ubiquitous than even dystopian-minded privacy
advocates might have realized.
Information about driving habits is also being collected by apps that
are only tangentially related to automobiles. You may already have one installed on your phone.
Examples include Life360, MyRadar, and GasBuddy. They all have opt-in
driving analysis features that rely on sensor and motion data from the
phone. The apps also offer insights into things like safety and fuel
usage. Many of these apps partner with a company called Arity, a data
broker founded by Allstate.
Arity uses the data it collects to create driving scores and then
sells them to auto insurance companies, which use the data to set
rates for drivers using the apps. Arity claims it has over 40 million
"active connections" to US drivers, who have opted into sharing their
driving data through "consumer mobile apps, in-car devices, and
connected cars."
https://www.techspot.com/news/103416-apps-track-driving-habits-sell-information-insurance-companies.html
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