From sophisticated navigation systems to entertainment, new cars come with an array of computer processors, sensors and software built in. This means that, as technology advances, our vehicles are becoming ever more intrusive. 

Experts worry that members of the public broadly underestimate the risks of in-car devices and services that, in the course of doing their jobs, also harvest vast amounts of personal data. Recently, privacy concerns have been raised about manufacturers including Ford and Tesla. 

In its annual Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report, the Israeli firm Upstream Security stated that 36% of cyber security incidents within the automobile industry in 2020 involved data and privacy breaches. A number of them resulted in the theft of personal information, including the telephone numbers and email addresses of car owners.

To understand what kind of data we leave behind every time we drive, where it goes and what that might mean for our privacy, I talked to cybersecurity expert Andrea Amico. Amico runs Privacy4Cars. His team consults with consumers and automotive businesses, and advises them how to manage the data that vehicles collect.