Rental Car Tracking Scandals Debunked

Every legal jurisdiction allows companies to install or place a rental car tracker on their vehicles to varying degrees. Even if there is no rental car GPS as an in-dash feature, hardwired or plugged-in trackers may be a component of any rental vehicle. Although there are consumer privacy concerns, businesses generally do not implant tracking devices on their vehicles to spy on their customers; instead, they are implementing a strategy known as asset tracking, which helps businesses find abandoned, missing, or stolen vehicles. Locating and recovering absent vehicles from their inventory lists help save organizations on replacement costs and time on filing comprehensive insurance and police reports.

Loss Prevention, Not Spying

Frequently referred to as global positioning system (GPS), five other satellite tracking types are used globally, dependent on the business or vehicle’s regional location. GPS can sometimes come with the original vehicle purchase since standard mounted or installed GPS comes with free public service options. However, a rental car tracker is a licensed application that a company must create or purchase that comes with further maintenance and utilization costs. These licensed applications typically do not come with audio or visual command options, as the tracking device or installation is merely for satellite positioning their leased asset.

GPS Cannot be Hacked

Organizations that invest in their own or purchase a rental car GPS to install as a device or hardware application on their rented cars are likely to be encrypted. Furthermore, businesses usually run their operations and systems off closed network servers and systems. In other words, a hacker cannot easily spy on solely one car renter without compromising the entire organizational security system. If a network or system compromise does occur, companies conventionally have coded fail-safes that will prevent data transfers, temporarily discontinue or interrupt satellite connections, or implement a total shut-down process to prevent information, such as renter’s position, from being obtained.

Businesses vs. Individuals

More consumer privacy laws are directed at businesses than individuals renting out their vehicles. Even between individuals, a rental car tracker can still be legally installed. However, individuals are more likely to violate privacy laws than businesses through audio or video recording or streaming. Individual privacy laws vary by jurisdiction, which means that an individual may only need to inform a renter that audio or video recording is within the vehicle. Other jurisdictions may find that renters that use another individual’s car do not have a legal expectation of privacy in another person’s vehicle.

In other words, the safest bet is to trust rental agencies over individual or virtual vehicle rentals, as a car rental from a business is a transaction. In contrast, a car rental from another individual is an agreement, whether verbal or in writing, that is less likely to have legal claim validity if privacy violations are pursued. If a privacy violation made on behalf of a business or individual is assumed, renters are encouraged to turn off the vehicle immediately, as it will more than likely disable recording and tracking once there is a power disconnect, and contact local authorities to file a police report.

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Created on Sep 3rd 2022 02:04. Viewed 150 times.

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