If you've ever connected your phone to your car, asked the voice assistant to find the nearest petrol station, or used an app to lock your vehicle from across the parking lot, you've already shared information with your car.

Modern vehicles are becoming connected devices on wheels. Apps, location services, voice assistants, cameras, sensors, and remote controls all generate and store data. Most motorists never think about it. But understanding what your car knows, who can see it, and how it might help you can make you a more informed, and better protected, driver.

The type of data your car is collecting depends on the make, model, age, and features of the vehicle, but connected cars can typically collect location information such as where you've been, how long you stayed, and the routes you took, especially if you use built-in navigation or a connected app. It also collects driving behaviour such as speed, braking, acceleration, cornering and, in some vehicles, seatbelt use, or how often driver-assist features are engaged.

Requests made to the in-car assistant may be processed or stored to improve the service. Your vehicle may also be collecting camera footage from dashcams, parking cameras, and driver-assist systems, depending on the vehicle.

Contacts, messages, call logs, and media preferences synced from your phone, as well as information linked to the manufacturer's app or your account may also be collected.

"Motorists are often surprised by how much information their vehicle can generate," says Funeka Ngewu, Executive Head: Claims and Claims Procurement at Momentum Insure. "It's not necessarily sinister but is simply the by-product of features designed to make driving safer and more convenient. It is however worth knowing what's being recorded."

Privacy and security questions worth asking

More connectivity means more information moving between your car, your phone, the manufacturer, and sometimes third-party service providers. That raises reasonable questions.

The first is privacy: who can access your data, how long it's kept, and whether it's shared with anyone else. The second is cybersecurity. Like any connected device, a vehicle's apps, accounts and software can be targeted by criminals looking to access personal information or, in some cases, remote features.

Then there's the practical side. Sell your car, hand it back after a rental or lease, or trade it in, and your phone contacts, home address, and saved locations may still be stored in the system unless you clear them.

"The goal isn't to be alarmed. It's to be aware," says Ngewu. "You wouldn't hand your phone to a stranger without a second thought. This same common sense should be applied to the technology in your car."

When the data works in your favour

The same information that raises privacy questions can be useful when something goes wrong.

After an accident, theft or hijacking, most people are shaken, stressed, and trying to piece together what happened. Details such as the exact time, the sequence of events or how fast you were travelling can be hard to recall accurately, let alone prove.

Depending on the vehicle and technology available, connected data may help in a number of ways. Location and timestamps can help confirm where and when an incident took place. Vehicle activity, such as speed, braking, or impact information, can help build a clearer picture of what happened. Sensor and camera data can corroborate a motorist's account of events, including the actions of other road users. Tracking information may help in recovering a stolen vehicle or confirming where it was at a given time.

"When you submit a claim, our role is to understand what happened as clearly and fairly as possible," says Ngewu. "In some cases, information from a connected vehicle can help fill in gaps, confirm the details a motorist has given us, or provide a clearer picture of the circumstances. It can support the claims process, particularly when someone is finding it hard to recall the exact sequence of events."

She cautions that it’s not a guarantee. "What's available will depend on the vehicle, the technology installed, the settings the owner has chosen, and the circumstances of the incident. Not every car records the same information, and data on its own doesn't replace the usual claims process. It's simply one more piece of the puzzle."

Practical steps for motorists

You don't need to be a tech expert to stay in control. Find out what information your car collects. Check your owner's manual, the manufacturer's app, or the vehicle's settings menu, and read the privacy information that comes with connected services.

Review your privacy and data-sharing settings. Many vehicles let you limit location tracking, switch off certain data sharing, or decide what's stored. Decide what you're comfortable with rather than accepting the defaults.

Most premium and many mainstream brands now offer connected-car apps. Protect your accounts by using strong, unique passwords for vehicle apps, switching on any additional security features they offer. Keep the car's software and apps updated.

Understand whether your data goes to the manufacturer, app providers, or other third parties, and what they're permitted to do with it. South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) gives you rights over how your personal information is handled.

Before selling, trading in or returning a vehicle, delete your accounts, contacts, and saved locations, and reset the system.

If your vehicle has a dashcam, tracker, or other connected technology, mention it when you claim. It may assist the claims process.

"The best approach is a balanced one," says Ngewu. "Be mindful of your personal information and take sensible steps to protect it."

In short, your connected car may know more about your journey than you realise, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.