GoKawiil
Tech News
Incogni is a service that sends takedown requests on behalf of users to the hundreds of data brokers, genealogy sites and social platforms that collect and resell personal information. It monitors whether brokers comply, rescans for newly added data, and files fresh removal requests automatically, including for hard-to-reach People Search Sites. Its Unlimited plan also lets users submit specific links for removal.
Ford announced a new privacy commitment promising not to sell customer driving data to third-party data brokers. The automaker said it will use aggregation and anonymization techniques, offer clear explanations of data use, and let customers control how much data they share, while still using some data for safety improvements.
General Motors has settled a lawsuit from 35 state attorneys general and Washington, D.C. over its OnStar Smart Driver program, agreeing to pay $220 million. Investigators found GM tracked driving behavior like speeding and hard braking from millions of customers between 2016 and 2024 and sold that data to brokers for insurance purposes, often without clear consent, and sometimes continued selling data on drivers it had mistakenly told were unenrolled. As part of the settlement, GM must limit data collection, undergo privacy audits, and add dealership training.
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims from attorneys general in 36 states that it sold drivers' location and driving-behavior data to brokers without proper consent. The settlement requires GM to obtain explicit consent before collecting or sharing such data and to undergo third-party audits of its privacy compliance. The case centers on GM's now-discontinued Smart Driver program, which tracked driving habits and fed data to brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk, who then sold it to insurers.
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims from a coalition of 36 state attorneys general that it illegally sold driving and location data to brokers. The data, gathered through GM's now-discontinued Smart Driver program, allegedly reached insurers who used it to raise some customers' premiums, and states say drivers weren't properly informed they were enrolled. GM must now limit data collection and get explicit consent from drivers going forward.
A Cybersecurity Awareness Week report explains that while Apple's App Tracking Transparency, Hide My Email, and iCloud Private Relay limit future tracking, they do not remove personal information already collected by data brokers over the years. It details how brokers compile sensitive details like addresses, phone numbers, and family connections from app and website permissions, then resell them largely without regulation.
A new survey from data removal service Incogni, covering 1,517 U.S. adults, found that 45% say they aren't concerned about their online privacy. Despite this, among those who claimed to have 'nothing to hide,' 58% would refuse to let a stranger unlock their phone for any amount of money, 39% cover their device cameras, and nearly half wouldn't share text messages with the government or 'Big Tech' even for three months' income.
A Northeastern University study tested 21 recent cars and 30 automaker apps between October 2024 and August 2025, finding that seven apps sent identifiers like VINs, email addresses and precise locations to advertising and analytics firms. Four of those apps—myCadillac, myChevrolet, myBuick and myGMC—each sent VINs to 10 companies including Microsoft and Adobe, while HondaLink sent VINs and location to Amplitude, and Lincoln and MyNISSAN apps were also flagged. Consumer Reports found 28 of 30 apps contacted at least one ad or analytics company, with some cars that contacted none directly still exposing owners to over 20 tracking firms once their apps were included.
An Android Authority writer describes shifting to privacy-focused tools like the Brave browser to limit Google's data collection and targeted advertising, after encountering people who dismiss online privacy as unimportant. The piece recounts personal experience with data breaches at retailers that exposed sensitive information such as ID numbers, arguing this shows why data collection risks extend to everyday consumers, not just privacy-conscious tech users.
The FTC banned General Motors for five years from selling customer driving data to consumer reporting agencies after finding the automaker had collected details like speeding and nighttime driving through its OnStar Smart Driver feature and passed them to data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk, which serve insurers. Many drivers say they didn't realize they had consented to this tracking, and some reported their insurance rates rose as a result. Research from the Mozilla Foundation found nearly every major automaker has similarly weak privacy protections and overlapping, confusing consent policies for vehicle data.
US safety regulators have opened an investigation into how Tesla self-certified its Cybercab, a robotaxi that notably lacks a steering wheel and pedals. The probe examines whether Tesla's internal approval process for this unconventional vehicle design met required safety standards before deployment.
US military branches confirmed to Senator Ron Wyden and Reuters that they have turned off advertising identifiers on service members' phones and computers. The Air Force disabled them two months ago, Special Operations Command did so recently, and the Army says mobile ad IDs have been off since earlier this year, with Windows devices blocked since before 2021.