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You might not be able to trust your insurance company as much as you think. Three car apps are linked to spying on drivers to collect data and selling it to insurance companies, prompting them to raise your rates without consequences.

Insurance companies will raise rates based on stolen data 

Have you noticed that your car insurance seemed to go up for no reason? You haven’t had any recent tickets or accidents, so what’s the deal? 

Well, your insurance company may have purchased stolen data from car apps on your phone. According to the New York Times, some apps have been spying on drivers to collect data and sell it. 

The General Motors OnStar system was collecting data and using third-party sellers like Lexis Nexis and Verisk to sell your information, but GM ended the program after lawsuits and media coverage struck. 

GasBuddy and Life360 are apps that might be currently stealing your data. The location app doesn’t even relate to driving.

A man using his phone beside his car
Man using phone near car | iStock

Selling your data can be obscured by tricky wording, disclosures in small font, long terms and conditions agreements, or privacy statements. 

These apps don’t make it clear that they use the phone’s motion sensors to analyze how risky your driving habits are for insurance purposes. 

Life360 uses Arity to sell data to insurance companies like Allstate and Progressive. They can use Arity to request personal driving scores and evaluate a driver’s performance based on sudden braking, speeding, or using their phones. 

Ariya can even use the data to target customers based on 10 different risk categories. This feels predatory and increases monthly costs while families struggle with inflation. 

But you can protect yourself by checking the privacy settings in your car’s infotainment system, your phone’s general privacy settings, and apps to opt out of privacy sharing. 

Life360 allows users to reject monitoring with a “Do not sell my personal information” button. Be aware of what you authorize your apps to use to prevent third-party sources from collecting your information.

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Allison Barfield

Allison Barfield joined MotorBiscuit in 2020 and covers all things trucks, SUVs, and Jeeps. Having grown up on a farm in Rock Hill, South Carolina, she’s no stranger to the “Best in Class” truck and SUV debates; people in her hometown were always gathering to help work on vehicles together, and deliberation would naturally arise.

Allison graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Media Arts. She has helped bring awareness to issues Women In Trucking face and has promoted Truckers Against Trafficking, an anti-trafficking NGO.

A fan of creatively dark literature, Allison appreciates the works of Shirley Jackson and Emily Dickenson. She lives in a mountainous area of the country and enjoys off-roading and camping. Her dog, Bruce, often joins her in testing trucks and SUVs for our site.