You can reduce location sharing by auditing three separate layers: the car’s built-in telematics, the automaker account and connected-service subscriptions, and location permissions on your phone. Change controls in each layer, then check insurer or driving-program enrollment and remove stored destinations, contacts and paired devices when transferring the vehicle.
Disabling one phone permission does not switch off the vehicle’s own modem. Likewise, turning off a navigation option may not change what an automaker account retains. Use your owner’s manual and the current privacy instructions for your exact model, country and service plan before changing settings that support emergency response, vehicle finding or remote functions.
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Start with a three-layer privacy inventory
Connected-car location data can come from the vehicle itself, from an account that manages connected services, or from a phone app. Treat each as a separate control surface.
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| Layer | What may use location | Controls to check | Possible trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle telematics | Built-in navigation, vehicle finding, remote functions, emergency response and related connected features | Infotainment privacy or data-sharing menu; vehicle connectivity settings; owner’s manual | Some connected, remote or emergency functions may stop working |
| Automaker account and services | Services associated with your account, service history, authorized integrations and usage-based programs | Account privacy dashboard, connected-service enrollment, authorized third parties and subscription settings | Remote access, location history or integrations may be limited |
| Phone apps | Navigation, parking, roadside, insurance, social, weather and other apps that request location | Per-app location permission, precise-location toggle where offered, background access and app removal | An app may lose mapping, nearby-device or automation features |
Before changing anything, write down the vehicle identification details, the email addresses used for connected services, the phone paired with the car, and any insurer or usage-based driving program you joined. This prevents a common mistake: changing a phone setting while leaving the vehicle’s cellular service and account enrollment untouched.
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Decide what you want to stop
“Stop sharing my location” can mean several different actions. Collection is the vehicle or app obtaining a location. Sharing is sending it to the automaker, a service provider, an authorized integration or another recipient. Retention is how long a company keeps records. Deletion removes stored records but does not necessarily prevent new collection.
- Reduce collection: disable a location-dependent vehicle feature or remove an app’s location permission.
- Reduce sharing: withdraw authorization for an integration, insurer program or optional connected service.
- Reduce retention: use an available deletion or history-control tool in the account.
- Prepare for transfer: clear personal data from the vehicle and cancel or transfer subscriptions.
These actions are not interchangeable. A setting that stops an app from reading your phone’s location does not erase vehicle records already held by an automaker. A deletion request does not necessarily disable the car’s modem.
Reduce location collection in the car
1. Identify every connected feature
Review the infotainment screen, the owner’s manual and the connected-services app. Look for navigation assistance, live traffic, roadside or emergency services, remote start and lock controls, vehicle-finding tools, stolen-vehicle assistance, maintenance services and any feature that displays the car on a map. The exact list depends on the vehicle, model year, country and enrollment.
Make a short note of which features you actually use. This lets you turn off optional functions without assuming that every emergency or safety service uses the same data path.
2. Open the vehicle’s privacy or data-sharing menu
Manufacturers use different labels, such as Privacy, Data Sharing, Connected Services, Location Services or Vehicle Data. Use the current manual for your model rather than copying instructions for another make. Where the vehicle offers separate switches, distinguish between:
- precise location or GPS collection;
- sharing with the automaker or service providers;
- remote commands and vehicle-finding;
- navigation and traffic assistance; and
- emergency or roadside communication.
Read the confirmation screen. It should tell you whether the change affects collection, a particular service, or all connected functions. Save a screenshot or note the date so you can verify later that the setting persisted after a software update or service renewal.
3. Review the automaker account separately
Sign in to the account used by the vehicle’s app or web portal. Check connected vehicles, authorized drivers, linked apps, data-sharing preferences, location history and subscriptions. Remove old drivers and integrations. If the account offers a data-copy or deletion request, submit it there and retain the confirmation.
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4. Check optional insurance or driving programs
Usage-based insurance and similar programs can receive driving or location data after you enroll. Review the insurer’s app, connected plug-in device, vehicle integration and consent terms. If you no longer want to participate, use the program’s stated withdrawal process and confirm whether the device or integration must also be removed. Stopping a phone permission may not cancel the enrollment.
5. Weigh emergency and remote-service effects
Location can support emergency dispatch, roadside assistance, remote commands and vehicle finding. Turning off a location-related service may therefore remove a capability you rely on. Decide feature by feature: keep a service if its safety value matters to you, or disable it if reducing collection is more important and you accept the loss of that function.
What manufacturer examples do—and do not—prove
FTC final order concerning GM and OnStar
The Federal Trade Commission’s January 2026 announcement describes a final order for GM and OnStar in the United States. For consumers covered by that order, the companies must obtain affirmative express consent before collecting, using or sharing connected-vehicle data, subject to limited exceptions. The order also requires a way to request a copy of covered data, seek deletion, disable precise-geolocation collection when the vehicle has the required capability, and opt out of collection of location and driving data subject to exceptions. It bars disclosure of covered data to consumer reporting agencies for five years.
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Toyota connected services
Toyota’s Connected Services Privacy Notice says connected services may use vehicle location and driving data for listed services. It describes sharing in circumstances such as compatible services a customer authorized and usage-based insurance offers with express prior consent, along with emergency-response exceptions. Read the notice for your vehicle and service enrollment; do not interpret it as a blanket promise that location is never shared.
Tesla controls
Tesla’s privacy and legal information says users can adjust data-sharing preferences from the vehicle touchscreen and describes Tesla’s own location-history and data practices. Those statements and controls are specific to Tesla vehicles and accounts. They should not be treated as instructions for another make.
Reduce location sharing from your phone
Audit permissions app by app
Use the current location-permission instructions for your operating-system version. Apple’s Location Services guidance and Android’s app-permissions guidance both let you review access one app at a time. For each app, ask whether location is essential to the function you use.
- Keep access only for apps that genuinely need it, such as turn-by-turn navigation while you are using navigation.
- Change always-on or background access to a more limited option when your phone offers that choice.
- Disable precise location for apps that only need an approximate area, if your platform provides that control.
- Remove apps whose location access is unnecessary or whose purpose you no longer recognize.
Review the list after installing a new app, restoring a phone backup or accepting a major operating-system update. Permission labels and menu locations vary by platform and version, so follow the current Apple or Android instructions rather than an old screenshot.
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Check apps associated with the car
Car companion apps, parking tools, roadside applications, navigation services and insurance apps can request phone location independently of the vehicle. Review their permissions and in-app privacy settings. If you disconnect an app from the vehicle, also remove its authorization in the automaker account when that option exists.
Understand the limit of a phone switch
Phone-level controls govern the app on that phone. They do not establish what the vehicle’s built-in telematics system collects through its own cellular connection. If the car continues to transmit location, changing the phone permission alone will not stop that transmission.
Prepare a car before selling, donating or handing it to someone else
The FTC advises clearing personal information before a vehicle transfer. Use this process while you still have access to the car and its accounts:
- Delete saved home and work addresses, destinations, routes, favorites and navigation history.
- Remove contacts, call history, text-message data and voice-assistant profiles stored by the infotainment system.
- Unpair phones, watches and other Bluetooth devices; remove stored Wi-Fi networks and keys where applicable.
- Sign out of music, charging, roadside, parking and other apps connected to the head unit.
- Remove the vehicle from the automaker’s account and disconnect authorized drivers and third-party integrations.
- Cancel, transfer or terminate connected-service subscriptions and usage-based insurance enrollment.
- Use the vehicle’s factory-reset or personal-data deletion function, then verify that the screen no longer shows your account or destinations.
- After the transfer, change passwords for accounts that were used in the car and check for remaining authorized sessions.
A factory reset can remove local records but may not cancel a subscription or delete records already held by a connected-service provider. Complete both the in-car reset and the account or service cancellation.
How to verify that changes worked
Privacy settings can fail to persist, especially after an ownership change, software update or subscription renewal. Verify each layer separately:
- Turn the vehicle off, wait for its normal shutdown period, restart it and recheck the privacy menu.
- Open the automaker app or account and confirm that the vehicle, authorized drivers and connected integrations match your choices.
- Check your phone’s location-permission list and confirm that removed apps are gone and restricted apps show the intended access level.
- Review account emails, billing pages and service dashboards for active connected plans or insurance programs.
- Test only the features you intend to keep, such as navigation or emergency assistance, and note which functions no longer work.
If a setting is missing, greyed out or immediately turns back on, contact the automaker or service provider with the vehicle model, region, software version and account email. Ask specifically whether the control changes collection, sharing, retention or only the display of location on the screen.
Common mistakes and their fixes
Assuming navigation is the only source
Connected services may use location for remote functions, emergency response, vehicle finding and other services even when you never open navigation. Inventory all enrolled features before deciding what to disable.
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Changing one control and declaring victory
The car, account and phone are separate layers. Repeat the audit in all three places and include insurer or driving-program enrollment.
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Applying another make’s instructions
Menus, consent choices and deletion rights vary by manufacturer, model, edition and country. A control described for one make does not automatically exist in another.
Deleting the app instead of the account connection
Removing a phone app can stop that app’s phone access, but it may leave the vehicle linked to an account or subscription. Remove the vehicle and integration from the account as well.
Resetting before documenting what you need
A reset can erase destinations, contacts and paired devices. If you are keeping the car, record the service names and account details first so you can restore only the functions you choose.
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| Your priority | First control to use | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Stop an app from accessing phone location | Phone’s per-app location permission | The app no longer has the selected access level |
| Limit built-in vehicle collection | Vehicle privacy or data-sharing menu | Which connected features and emergency functions are affected |
| Stop an optional data recipient | Automaker account integration, insurer program or service enrollment | Withdrawal confirmation and removal of linked devices or apps |
| Remove historical personal data | Account deletion request plus vehicle data reset | Confirmation from the provider and an empty local profile |
| Transfer ownership safely | FTC-style vehicle cleanup checklist | Subscriptions canceled or transferred and all users unpaired |
What is known about the scale of collection
The FTC’s January 2025 announcement about GM and OnStar said some users’ precise geolocation data was collected as often as every three seconds. That is a case-specific figure from the FTC’s announcement, not a rate for all connected cars or automakers. The announcement quoted FTC Chair Lina M. Khan: “With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance.” No general prevalence figure establishes how many automakers or drivers share location data, so decisions should be based on your vehicle, account, services and permissions.
A 15-minute review you can repeat
For routine maintenance, set a calendar reminder every few months and after major software updates. Start with the phone’s location-permission list and flag apps you no longer recognize. Next, open the automaker account and review authorized drivers, linked services, location history and active subscriptions. Finally, sit in the vehicle and compare the privacy menu with the choices shown online. Record the date, the switches changed and any feature you intentionally kept.
This short log is useful when support staff give conflicting answers. It lets you state exactly which control you changed and whether you are asking about future collection, an existing record, or an external recipient. Keep confirmation emails for deletion, withdrawal or subscription cancellation, but do not store passwords in the vehicle or in an unprotected note.
When a feature cannot be disabled
Some vehicles may offer only a bundled choice, a required setting, or no user-facing switch for a particular data flow. Do not assume that a greyed-out control means the data is absent. Read the service notice and ask the provider what is technically required, what exceptions apply, and whether an account-level opt-out or deletion request is available. If you cannot obtain a clear answer, disable optional connected services you do not need, remove third-party integrations and document the response for future ownership or service decisions.
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Keep the boundaries clear
A vehicle setting, an account preference and a phone permission can each be effective while controlling different data. A manufacturer’s public statement describes that company’s products, not every connected car. The FTC’s GM/OnStar requirements are tied to a particular U.S. order, while Toyota and Tesla publish separate notices and controls. Apply the instructions that match your make, model, country and enrollment, and confirm the practical trade-off before switching off a safety or emergency feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off location on my phone stop my car from sharing its location?
Usually not. A connected vehicle can transmit location through its own cellular telematics system. Change the vehicle privacy settings and automaker-account preferences separately, then review the phone app’s permission.
Does deleting the automaker app delete my vehicle’s location history?
Not necessarily. Removing an app limits that app on the phone, but the vehicle may remain linked to an account and the provider may retain earlier records. Use the account’s history or deletion controls and remove the vehicle or integration.
Can I disable location but keep emergency assistance?
It depends on the vehicle and service design. Check the exact menu and notice for separate controls, and confirm which emergency, roadside, remote and vehicle-finding functions stop when location collection is limited.
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Delete destinations, routes, contacts, call history and paired devices; sign out of apps; remove the vehicle and authorized drivers from the automaker account; cancel or transfer subscriptions and insurance programs; and perform the vehicle’s personal-data reset. A reset alone may not cancel services or erase provider-held records.
Do the FTC’s GM and OnStar requirements apply to every automaker?
No. The January 2026 final order is specific to GM and OnStar and covered U.S. consumers. Other manufacturers, including Toyota and Tesla, describe their own services and controls.
How often should I check these settings?
Review them after a software update, a new phone, a restored backup, a subscription change, a new driver or an ownership change. A periodic review also catches apps and integrations you no longer use.
The Bottom Line
Reduce location sharing in layers: adjust the vehicle’s telematics controls, review the automaker account and optional insurer programs, and audit every phone app. Separate collection, sharing and deletion, verify each change, and clean both local data and subscriptions before transferring the car.
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