Q&A: The data your car collects and who can use it

Newer cars that connect to the internet can collect vast amounts of data about drivers, such as where you went to dinner, if you broke the speed limit or if your seat belt was buckled.

Automakers, insurers, high-tech firms, city planners and advertisers are among those who could use data to refine services.

Drivers could share data in exchange for navigation systems, or they could pay extra for perks like a parking spot finder.

Under federal law, drivers own data stored in event data recorders, or "black boxes," which monitor vehicles in a crash.

Police and insurers need a driver's consent — or a court order — to get that data.

Tesla Motors has used data to reveal — sometimes within hours of a crash — how fast the driver was going and whether or not the company's semi-autonomous Autopilot system was engaged.

[...] under voluntary principles established by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in 2014, most agreed to get permission before sharing anything about a driver's location, health or behavior with third parties.

The policy doesn't require consent for automakers to share data with emergency workers or to share it internally for research.

Most automakers let owners opt out, but that's usually buried in fine print, says Khaliah Barnes, former associate director of the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center, who now works on privacy issues for the federal government.

[...] some GM owners' manuals tell people about data storage, but they must track down separate policies to learn more, Barnes says.

Upon a driver's request, GM will send driving data to insurance companies like Progressive and State Farm to see if the driver qualifies for lower rates.