Some car apps are slipping owners’ data to big tech companies

The app that comes with your car may be sharing what it knows about you with some of the biggest tech companies. Northeastern University researchers tested 21 vehicles and 30 carmaker apps and found some sending vehicle identification numbers (VINs), email addresses, phone numbers or location data to advertising, tracking and analytics companies. The work was carried out with Consumer Reports, which gave them access to vehicles it had bought for testing.