Have you sold a car, or traded one in recently? If that car was built in the last five or ten years, there’s a good chance it could contain sensitive, personal data that it’s new owner now has access to. Many newer vehicles have GPS navigation, mobile phone integration, and other features, which store a plethora of useful information about you.
A few years ago, we bought a Chrysler Town & Country minivan from Carmax. The 2009 minivan was equipped with a version of Chrysler’s MyGIG system—a 20GB hard drive that stores music, photos, and more. As a bonus, we discovered that it was actually already loaded with music and photos…from its previous owner.
This year, we acquired a 2011 Toyota Prius—again from Carmax. We found that the built-in GPS was filled with information. It contained a point-of-reference called “Home” which I assume would lead us straight to the previous owner’s residence, along with every other address the previous owner had entered—things like where they work, homes of family and friends, places they like to visit and shop…
Read the full article at Forbes: You Might Be Shocked To Learn How Much Your Old Car Knows About You.