'Information-collecting monstrosities' — Are Chinese connected cars really worse for your privacy?

All across British roads, a new — albeit increasingly familiar — silhouette is rapidly taking over.

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>All across British roads, a new — albeit increasingly familiar — silhouette is rapidly taking over. Nicknamed the "<a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/04/30/the-rise-of-the-temu-range-rover" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Temu Range Rover</a>," feature-packed Chinese SUV models from companies like Jaecoo, Omoda, Great Wall Motor (GWM), and BYD are attracting UK buyers with the luxury feel of an iconic Range Rover at a fraction of the price. Naturally, drivers are getting worried.</p><p>The issue isn’t just Chinese manufacturers gaining ground in the UK market. This takeover has reopened the debate about China, data harvesting, and personal privacy. </p><p>Should we be worried that the invisible web of cameras, sensors, mics, and app trackers behind these polished glass cockpits is logging our movements to cloud servers on the mainland?</p><p>That certainly sounds alarming. Yet the reality is even creepier: new cars began resembling computers on wheels long ago — and that isn’t exclusive to Chinese models.</p><p>As the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20260513-your-car-is-spying-on-you-its-about-to-get-worse" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">BBC reported</a>, consulting firm McKinsey found that half the cars on the road in 2021 already had internet connections, with experts expecting that number to reach 95% by 2030. </p><p>And in-car data harvesting is set to accelerate further. Last April, <a href="https://www.biometricupdate.com/202604/lip-reading-emotion-sensing-face-biometrics-vie-for-place-in-smart-auto-stack" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ford filed a patent </a>for software that reads a driver's lips using in-cabin cameras and sensors, joining a wave of facial recognition tech designed to detect fatigue, emotional expression, and alcohol intake.</p><p>While these developments are framed around driver safety, vehicles that once represented freedom have become mobile monitoring hubs, and China isn’t the only country that deserves scrutiny. </p><p>So, what’s the true cost of driving a connected car? And is your new Chinese-made Jaecoo 7 actually any worse for your privacy than a legacy Western model?</p><h2 id="surveillance-on-wheels-how-your-car-spies-on-you">Surveillance on wheels: how your car spies on you</h2><p>While current scrutiny focuses on Chinese telemetry, they are certainly not the only brands involved. All it takes is a cursory look at the privacy policies of leading manufacturers to understand the sheer scope of data modern cars gather.</p><p>According to<a href="https://incontrol.landrover.com/jlr-portal-owner-web/about/privacy-policy/GBR" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Land Rover's UK policy</a>, for example, the company logs your "last-parked" location by default alongside every journey detail, including duration, distance, average speed, route travelled, and fuel efficiency. </p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://owners.kia.com/us/en/privacy-policy.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Kia’s US policy explicitly states </a>the company may "collect and store voice data to enable voice control and voice inputs."</p><p>The issue is hardly new. In 2023, <a href="https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mozilla researchers shed light on connected car privacy</a>, and their findings were damning. </p><p>Every single one of the 25 car brands reviewed — including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, Nissan, and Subaru — failed consumer privacy standards. At the time, researchers discovered that some brands were collecting deeply personal details like facial expressions, weight, health status, and location history.</p><p>Mozilla privacy expert Jen Caltrider described these vehicles to TechRadar as "information-collecting monstrosities," noting that low consumer awareness makes their data collection even more "terrifying".</p><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><figure><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en" cite="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/1714298472847851868"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our most recent #PrivacyNotIncluded report on Cars + Privacy inspired a lot of questions with our supporters, the most common one being, "Is that even legal?"Our team weighs in, here⤵️https://t.co/loxt52R5QN<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/1714298472847851868">October 17, 2023</a></p></blockquote></figure><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>Data is gathered through a web of sensors, microphones, and in-cabin cameras linked to connected smartphones, alongside companion apps, dealership systems, and vehicle telematics. </p><p>This, coupled with policies that are anything but consumer-friendly, makes connected cars an even greater threat to privacy.</p><p>Take <a href="https://jaecoo.co.uk/privacy-policy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jaecoo’s privacy policy</a>, for example. The document states that it does not apply to "the processing of personal data when you use our vehicle," without linking to any other policy that does that. </p><p>That’s unfortunately a recurring practice across the automotive industry. As Caltrider confirmed to TechRadar, deciphering these layered car policies is notoriously difficult even for privacy researchers.</p><p>And even if you manage to get a grip on what kind of information is collected, how it's processed, and who it's shared with before making a purchase, "there's no guarantee that the company won't just change that tomorrow," Caltrider added.</p><p>TechRadar has reached out to Jaecoo, Land Rover, and Kia for comment, but has not received a response prior to publication.</p><a href="https://x.wayin.com/display/container/dc/efe848be-588a-4e20-8711-6e02de64b315/details"><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1200px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:26.17%;"><img id="Z7QHFc4GHoMhdps5XmntoC" name="LNT-masthead" alt="Leave No Trace logo" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z7QHFc4GHoMhdps5XmntoC-1920-80.png" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1200" height="314" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Future)</span></figcaption></figure></a><p><strong>NEW</strong>: <a href="https://x.wayin.com/display/container/dc/efe848be-588a-4e20-8711-6e02de64b315/details" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><strong>Leave No Trace</strong></a> — A weekly newsletter on digital privacy and online surveillance.</p><p>Leave No Trace investigates the companies and governments putting our digital freedom at risk — and the people fighting back.</p><p>📩 <a href="https://x.wayin.com/display/container/dc/efe848be-588a-4e20-8711-6e02de64b315/details">Subscribe now</a> to get every edition delivered to your inbox every Friday, launching this September.</p><h2 id="car-privacy-and-the-real-world-risks">Car privacy and the real-world risks</h2><p>China is infamous for state surveillance, but Western drivers have also become accustomed to routine monitoring through smartphones, smartwatches, and ubiquitous CCTV. </p><p>But cars feel like private, secure spaces. This disconnect between driver expectations and technical reality prevents people from grasping the real-world risks. </p><p>Telematics data may seem abstract, but aggregated over months alongside call histories, contacts, and cabin sensor metrics, raw GPS coordinates build a shockingly detailed picture of your daily life.</p><div><blockquote><p>The potential for manipulation and abuse is off the charts</p><p>Jen Caltrider, privacy expert</p></blockquote></div><p>That’s what Caltrider calls "inferences." This aggregate data can reveal your emotional stability, political beliefs, health status, and financial risk, which can then be combined with smartphone data to build a digital persona monetized for commercial gain.</p><p>While <a href="https://www.nissanusa.com/privacy.html#categories-information-collect-disclose" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Nissan explicitly states in its US policy</a> that it "does not create or sell any customer inference profiles,"<a href="https://owners.kia.com/us/en/privacy-policy.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Kia’s US terms</a> are explicit: the company draws inferences from collected data "that may reflect your preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, or similar behavioral information."</p><p>According to Caltrider, this thirst for aggregated data is why automakers write such expansive privacy policies — giving them leeway to collect as much information as possible.</p><p>While a policy disclosure doesn't mean a car constantly logs every metric it claims, "the potential for manipulation and abuse is off the charts," Caltrider warns.</p><p>Which brings us back to the core question: with China infamous for aggressive state surveillance and invasive data laws, is driving a Chinese car an even bigger risk?</p><h2 id="geopolitical-risks-are-chinese-connected-cars-worse">Geopolitical risks: Are Chinese connected cars worse?</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:970px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.19%;"><img id="ef8zeecGrS3texgTdoSkYe" name="Shutterstock_671045005" alt="Flag of the People's Republic of China overlaid with a technological network of wires and circuits." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ef8zeecGrS3texgTdoSkYe-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="970" height="545" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Shutterstock)</span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the biggest concerns surrounding Chinese cars is rooted in potential geopolitical risk: could the Chinese government use these vehicles to spy on the Western world?</p><p>Possibly. At least, that’s what several Western military and intelligence agencies have come to believe, taking concrete steps to mitigate those risks. </p><p>In the UK, for example, the <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/electric-cars-chinese-parts-banned-from-military-sites-spying-fears-3644639" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ministry of Defence (MoD) reportedly issued security notices </a>instructing personnel not to hold sensitive conversations inside leased Chinese cars, nor pair work phones via Bluetooth or USB to prevent mobile data extraction.</p><p>As cybersecurity experts previously <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/29/source-of-data-are-electric-cars-vulnerable-to-cyber-spies-and-hackers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">confirmed to The Guardian</a>, Chinese cars certainly have the potential to be repurposed as surveillance platforms for a hostile government.</p><p>After all, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Intelligence_Law_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Article 7 of China's National Intelligence Law </a>requires any Chinese company and citizen to "support, assist, and cooperate" with national intelligence work upon request and keep that assistance secret. </p><p>Regardless of whether a brand stores drivers' data in a UK data centre, Chinese parent companies still remain subject to that legal obligation.</p><p>Yet as Michael Stokes, SVP of Emerging Technologies at Veilant and former CIA officer, told TechRadar: "That does not prove any particular car is spying, and I have seen no public evidence that one is." </p><p>Stokes reiterates that the privacy issue with connected cars is far from just a China problem, arguing that Chinese manufacturers simply add "a second layer" of risk.</p><p>While it’s important to keep that in mind when choosing between a UK-made Range Rover, a Tesla, or a Jaecoo 7, the ultimate decision comes down to personal choice: how comfortable are you with your data being collected — and potentially shared with the country where the manufacturer is based?</p><h2 id="can-we-still-be-private-in-our-own-car">Can we still be private in our own car?</h2><p>Three years after Mozilla published its shocking findings, lawmakers have begun taking steps to better protect consumers.</p><p>Most notably, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/01/ftc-finalizes-order-settling-allegations-gm-onstar-collected-sold-geolocation-data-without-consumers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">five-year ban prohibiting General Motors from selling customer location</a> and driving telemetry to data brokers.<a href="https://www.drive.com.au/news/toyota-and-hyundai-under-privacy-watchdog-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Australia's privacy watchdog</a> also launched formal investigations into Toyota and Hyundai regarding potential breaches of data protection laws.</p><p>Despite these victories and growing consumer awareness, Caltrider feels the broader trend around vehicle privacy is actually worsening as new models harvest more data without lawmakers stepping in to stop it.</p><p>For Caltrider, the issue isn’t negotiable: the burden shouldn’t fall on consumers. "People should be able to buy a car without having to figure out how to stop it tracking them," she explains.</p><p>So, can we still have privacy in our own cars? The short answer is no. Whether you are behind the wheel of an iconic British luxury SUV or a budget-friendly Jaecoo 7, you can be certain vast amounts of your data are being harvested.</p><p>There are ways to limit this collection. A good place to start is avoiding your car's companion app whenever possible, or revoking as many app permissions as you can. But these workarounds fall short of addressing the real elephant in the room.</p><p>While consumer awareness is higher today, and some manufacturers are slowly shifting toward <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/slate-says-its-electric-pickup-will-never-track-you/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">privacy-conscious vehicles</a>, control over data collection is far from standard practice. Until data privacy becomes a non-negotiable manufacturing requirement, you either stick with an older vehicle or accept that the moment you turn the ignition in a connected car, your privacy is left behind in the driveway. On the long road ahead, that shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.</p><div data-widget-type="multimodelreview" data-model-name="NordVPN,Surfshark,Proton VPN" data-widget-title="Today's best VPN deals"></div> </article> ]]>