To stop an insurer app from recording trips, first ask your insurer how to withdraw from its usage-based insurance (UBI) or telematics program, and when tracking will end. Then adjust the app’s location and motion permissions if the insurer confirms that is appropriate. Deleting the app or switching off permissions alone may not cancel enrollment or address data collected separately by your carmaker.
First, find out what is tracking your driving
“Car insurance app” can mean an insurer’s optional driving program, ordinary app permissions, or a connected-car service that sends data to the vehicle manufacturer. These are separate data paths, and each can have different controls.
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Usage-based insurance (UBI), also called telematics, uses a phone app, a plug-in device, or technology built into a vehicle to collect information such as mileage or driving behavior for insurance pricing. The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner describes it as an insurer monitoring driving behavior to determine a premium, and notes that this raises privacy concerns: Usage-based insurance. The NAIC also explains that mileage and behavior tracking in UBI programs has raised privacy concerns: Telematics.
Check your policy documents and insurer app for terms such as “usage-based insurance,” “telematics,” “driving score,” “safe-driving program,” “trip tracking,” or “pay-per-mile.” Ask the insurer whether your policy currently sends trips through a phone, a plug-in unit, or the vehicle itself. Insurers do not all collect the same information or use the same pricing formula.
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How to stop insurer telematics collection
- Contact the insurer before disabling tracking. Use its official support channel and ask how to withdraw from the program, whether enrollment is optional, when transmission will stop, and whether withdrawal affects your rate, discount, or eligibility. The NAIC’s consumer guide to usage-based insurance explains that UBI is a pricing approach; the effect of leaving depends on the particular insurer and policy.
- Request written confirmation. Ask for the effective date tracking ends and what happens to your premium, discount, or policy terms. Do not assume that deleting the app ends enrollment or changes your policy obligations.
- Review the app’s permissions. On your phone, open the operating system’s app settings and check the insurer app’s Location and Motion & Fitness or physical-activity permissions. The labels vary by phone and operating-system version. Disable permissions that are no longer needed only after checking whether the insurer accepts this as withdrawal. Nationwide’s Consumer Privacy Policy says that, for its cited programs, collection may be stopped by deleting or changing app privacy permissions and/or turning off data sharing; that is not a universal rule for other insurers.
- Handle a plug-in device as instructed. If your program uses a device plugged into the car, ask whether it must be deactivated or returned, and whether removing it ends transmission. Nationwide identifies removing its telematics device from operation as a collection-stopping step. Follow your own insurer’s instructions rather than assuming another company’s procedure applies.
- Keep the confirmation and ask about existing data. Save the insurer’s response and effective date. Ask what information already collected will be retained and how it may be used. Retention and deletion rights depend on the company, policy, and jurisdiction; there is no single deletion process established for every program.
Choose the right control for the tracking path
| Tracking path | What to check | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer app telematics | Enrollment terms, app permissions, and the insurer’s withdrawal process. | Changing permissions may stop some app collection, but timing and policy effects vary. See Nationwide’s privacy policy and the ABI’s telematics consumer guide. |
| Plug-in telematics device | How to deactivate or return the unit, and whether removal ends transmission. | The unit may be physically removable, but insurer directions and policy consequences matter. See the ABI guide. |
| Built-in vehicle telematics | Automaker privacy settings, consent controls, and options for privacy requests. | Built-in technology may not be removable, and disabling data sharing can affect connected features. See the ABI guide and Associated Press guidance on connected-car controls. |
| Remain in UBI or choose a non-UBI policy | Compare the actual premium, discount, data collected, sharing, and retention terms for your policy. | Leaving may change a discount or how your premium is priced; the result requires a policy review or quote. The NAIC’s telematics overview discusses the pricing approach. |
Check the carmaker’s data controls separately
Stopping an insurer app does not necessarily stop a vehicle manufacturer’s collection or sharing. Review the automaker’s app, account privacy settings, and in-vehicle settings for location, consent, or data-sharing controls. The Maryland Insurance Administration recommends reviewing vehicle data collection and sharing practices and whether opt-out is available: Telematics.
Before turning off connected-car services, check which features depend on them. Disabling location or data sharing can affect features such as roadside assistance or remote locking, according to the Associated Press.
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Some legal actions address particular companies, not every car or insurer. The FTC’s January 2026 announcement concerns a finalized order settling allegations involving GM and OnStar; its terms are specific to those companies and include limited exceptions: FTC announcement. The FTC’s 2025 action described allegations involving location and driving-behavior data from “millions of vehicles”; that is a case-specific allegation, not a measure of how many vehicles or insurer apps collect data generally: FTC 2025 announcement.
What to expect from an opt-out
There is no universal promise that turning off tracking preserves the same premium, discount, or eligibility. Ask about those consequences before withdrawing, then compare the actual terms of a non-UBI policy if privacy matters more to you than the program’s pricing. Insurance and privacy rules differ by state and country; the UK ABI and European Data Protection Board materials illustrate different program and vehicle-data arrangements, not rules for U.S. policies.
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Most importantly, keep insurer telematics and carmaker data sharing distinct in your requests. Ask each company which data flow it controls, what action stops it, when the change takes effect, and what happens to information already collected.
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