GM is paying $220 million over driving data it sold, and none of that money goes to drivers. There’s one free thing you can do about it.
Your Daily Dad Joke
What do you call a security guard outside of a Samsung store?
Guardian of the Galaxy.
The car that kept notes
You hit the brakes hard because somebody cut you off. You took a corner a little fast on the way to pick up the kids. You drove home late from a shift. Nobody saw any of it. It was just you and the car.
Except the car was paying attention.
That’s why I wanted to pass this along.
You may have seen that General Motors agreed to pay $220 million to settle with 36 states. Oregon’s attorney general, who co-led the case with Washington, says GM collected data from cars through its Smart Driver program from 2016 to 2024: trips, hard braking, speeding. The states say GM sold it to data brokers who used it in products for insurance companies, and that some insurers raised people’s premiums because of it.
The states also say GM’s app told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled when they were. And they say some dealership employees clicked yes for customers, with bonuses for signing people up. GM said the settlement reinforces privacy steps it has already taken.
So your first question might be: do I get any of that $220 million?
From what I can see, no. I read the state announcements, and none of them mentions a payment to drivers. The money goes to the states. Oregon gets more than $10.4 million. Maine gets about $2.8 million.
What you do get is a delete button. Under the settlement, GM has to get a clear yes before it collects this kind of data, collect less of it, and delete a driver’s data when that driver asks. That’s the part that can actually help you.
Here’s the one thing I’d do this week if you’ve driven a GM car or truck since 2016. Fill out GM’s privacy request form at consumerprivacy.gm.com and ask it to delete your driving data. If you’d rather call, the number is 1-866-697-7482 (1-866-MYPRIVACY). GM says it doesn’t take these requests by email.
I know. One more form. But it’s a few minutes, and it’s the difference between that data sitting somewhere and it being gone.
If you want to see whether anything already reached the companies insurers buy reports from, LexisNexis lets you ask for your consumer disclosure report for free. I wrote more about how this all came out when the FTC banned GM from selling driving data to the companies that build those reports, if you want to go deeper.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before the weekend.
Did you know your car could share how you drive, or is this the first you’ve heard of it? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.
Nobody reads the fine print on a car’s app while the salesperson waits with the keys. If your data got out, that happened to you; you didn’t cause it. Taking a few minutes to ask for it back is a good decision, whatever the answer turns out to be. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.
— Steve
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If any of this was new to you, somebody you know hasn’t heard it either. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.
This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.