Your car is spying on you. It knows where you live, and who you’ve been talking to on the phone, and who you’re texting.
Some people are starting to get a little creeped out by how much information is being maintained by computer chips in modern day cars.
Ronald Montoya with Edmunds says how much information you give your car about yourself is optional, but know that whatever information you are sharing with your car you are probably already sharing with your phone.
Instead of providing your actual home address when you set your car up, list a close intersection, or better yet, the closest police station. If you know how to get to your house from that point, you’re good it go. There have been reports of people going through junk yards and pulling memories out of computer ships.
If you’re uncomfortable downloading all your contacts from your phone, then don’t.
Almost all cars have a black box these days, so there is always going to be a recent track of where you were and what happened. It keeps track of your speed, your braking, and whether you had your seat belt on. But you own that information, and even your insurance company has to ask permission to access it.
If you’re selling or trading in a car, clear out all phones that partner up with bluetooth. Most vehicles come with a reset button kind of like when you get a new phone. Much like when you get rid of a phone, wipe your car’s memory clean before you part ways. Keep the memories of the car but don’t let it keep memories of you.
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