Survivor safety

Connected cars can become stalking tools.

Location apps, spare keys, shared accounts, service portals, and lender devices can expose where someone is. This page is for safety planning, documentation, and stronger legal protections.

Immediate danger

If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or a trusted local advocate. Do not change vehicle settings in a way that alerts an abuser until you have a safety plan.

Quiet safety checklist

  1. Check who can access the manufacturer app, connected services, dealer portal, insurance app, lender portal, and roadside assistance account.
  2. Look for location sharing, valet mode, geofencing, speed alerts, remote lock and unlock, remote start, and trip history.
  3. Change passwords from a safe device, then enable multi-factor authentication where available.
  4. Ask the service provider how to remove an unauthorized user without sending that user an alert.
  5. Document screenshots, timestamps, messages, and account changes before deleting anything.
  6. Ask a local advocate or attorney about protective orders that specifically include vehicle accounts, location data, and connected services.

Policy demand for lawmakers

Survivors should have a fast right to disconnect abusive access to connected-car services, obtain logs of account access, suppress location sharing, and prevent companies from notifying the abuser when safety requires confidentiality.

A

Account separation

Companies should have a trained survivor-safety process to split accounts, remove users, and block location access.

L

Location blackout

Survivors should be able to turn off tracking and trip history without needing permission from the account holder who is abusing access.

R

Records

Survivors should be able to request account-access logs and preserve evidence for court.

S

Safe notices

Companies should not tip off an abuser when a survivor takes protective account steps.