Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.
Key facts
- The deal: General Motors will pay $220 million to settle claims by 36 attorneys general that it sold drivers' Smart Driver and location data without proper disclosure. It was announced October 29, 2026.
- Who brought it: a coalition co-led by Washington and Oregon, with an executive committee of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Utah and Vermont.
- Who pays: General Motors LLC, General Motors Holdings LLC and OnStar LLC. GM did not admit wrongdoing.
- The money: goes to the states, not directly to drivers. Washington gets $12,311,819, New York $12,054,341, Maryland $7.33 million and Arizona $5.9 million.
- New rules for GM: affirmative express consent before collecting or sharing driving and location data, a privacy program with outside assessments, data deletion, and dealer training.
- Separate private case: a nationwide class action over the same data is still pending in federal court in Atlanta.
In this article
- What the states say GM did
- What data was involved
- Where the 220 million dollars goes
- What GM must do under the settlement
- What GM says
- The private class action is a separate case
- What GM drivers can do now
- What happens next
- Frequently asked questions
General Motors makes Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick vehicles. Many of those vehicles come with OnStar, GM's connected-car service for features like crash response, roadside help and remote access. Smart Driver was an OnStar feature that GM marketed as a way to help drivers improve their habits.
Thirty-six attorneys general, representing 35 states and the District of Columbia, say GM used Smart Driver to collect detailed driving behavior and sold it to data brokers that resold it to insurance companies. GM agreed to a consent decree, which is a settlement entered as a court judgment that the company must follow. Washington filed its version in King County Superior Court as State of Washington v. General Motors LLC, et al., No. 26-2-35496-1 SEA. The decree says GM does not admit any violation of law.
What the states say GM did
The allegations come from Washington's complaint and the attorneys general's announcements. They were not proven in court, because the case settled.
- Smart Driver collected detailed data. Washington's complaint says GM released Smart Driver in 2015 and collected data on hard braking, hard acceleration, hard cornering, high speeds, seat belt use, late-night driving and trip times.
- GM sold it to data brokers. The complaint says GM began selling OnStar and Smart Driver data to Verisk Analytics in 2015 and signed a similar contract with LexisNexis Risk Solutions in 2019. A data broker is a company that buys and sells information about people. The complaint says both companies used the data to build consumer reports and driver ratings sold to insurers, and some insurers used them in part to set rates.
- The sale was for insurance use. The coalition says GM sold the data under contracts that specified it was to be used for insurance products, and did not tell drivers.
- Opt-in was not what it looked like. GM offered a separate Insurance Discount Eligibility program for drivers who wanted to share data with insurers. The complaint says GM sold identifiable data for all Smart Driver users, whether or not they joined that program.
- Enrollment at the dealership. The attorneys general say most drivers were signed up at the dealership through a single OnStar sign-up, that dealership employees in many cases allegedly accepted terms for customers, and that sales staff received bonuses based in part on enrollments.
- Drivers told they were not enrolled. The attorneys general say the OnStar app mistakenly told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in Smart Driver when they were, and that GM later unenrolled them without telling them and left their data with the brokers and insurers.
The complaint says GM made more than $20 million nationwide from these data sales. After The New York Times reported on the practice in March and April 2024, GM said in April 2024 that it was discontinuing Smart Driver "based on customer feedback," according to the complaint.
No payment is coming from this settlement The $220 million is paid to the states. The settlement does not create a claim form, and the announcements we reviewed did not describe any direct payments to drivers. Drivers who want compensation would look to the separate private class action, which has not settled.
What data was involved
The settlement calls it Covered Driver Data: location data, radio listening data, hard braking, hard acceleration, hard cornering, crossing a set high-speed threshold, seat belt use, late-night driving, and trip time and duration.
Location data was a major part of the case. Washington's complaint says OnStar collected precise location every three seconds from the moment the car started until it was turned off, linked to the owner's name, address and vehicle identification number (VIN). It says GM provided precise location data to LexisNexis, while Verisk's contract barred GM from sending location data.
New York said more than 700,000 New York drivers were enrolled in Smart Driver. Law360 reported that the program covered nearly 10.3 million drivers nationwide.
Where the 220 million dollars goes
GM must pay within 30 days after the settlement's effective date, which the Washington decree sets as November 30, 2026. The money is divided among the participating states. In Washington, the decree says the state's share goes to the Attorney General's office for costs, consumer protection enforcement and other lawful purposes.
The states that have published their shares so far:
| State | Share |
|---|---|
| Washington | $12,311,819 |
| New York | $12,054,341 |
| Maryland | $7.33 million |
| Arizona | $5.9 million |
The coalition includes Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Montana is not on the list. Its attorney general brought a separate lawsuit against GM over OnStar driving data.
What GM must do under the settlement
The Washington decree sets out these requirements:
- Consent first. GM must get affirmative express consent, meaning a clear, active yes from the driver, before collecting or disclosing driving and location data.
- Privacy program. Within 180 days GM must run a written privacy program led by a Chief Privacy Officer, with data minimization and data protection assessments. Data minimization means collecting only what is needed for a stated purpose.
- Outside review. A third-party assessor must be hired within 90 days, with an initial assessment covering the first year and then reviews every two years for four more years. TechCrunch reported this outside assessment is a new requirement beyond GM's earlier agreements with California and the Federal Trade Commission.
- Deleting old data. GM must delete Covered Driver Data it kept from before January 16, 2025 within 180 days, with limited exceptions, and ask third parties it gave such data to before that date to delete it. GM may email drivers within 90 days to ask for consent to keep their data.
- Driver rights. Drivers can ask GM to delete their data, or to send a copy along with the categories of third parties it was shared with, which GM must process within 45 days. GM must also let drivers turn off location collection where the vehicle supports it. The privacy program obligations run until January 13, 2046.
- Dealer training. Within 60 days, GM must train dealerships so that drivers review and accept OnStar data terms themselves.
- Notice to drivers. GM must post a notice of the deletion and copy options on its website and, within 30 days after a litigation hold on the data ends, email it to people enrolled in OnStar at any time from January 1, 2018 through the effective date. A litigation hold is a legal duty to preserve records while lawsuits are pending.
Why the consent rule matters The core claim was that drivers did not know where their data was going. Requiring an active yes before collection or sharing puts the decision with the driver instead of a dealership checkbox. The deletion and copy rights also give drivers a way to see and clear what GM still holds.
What GM says
GM said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch: "This agreement addresses Smart Driver, a product we ended in 2024, and reinforces steps we've taken to strengthen our privacy practices." The company added that it "is committed to being clear about what information is used, how it's protected, and the choices customers have about what they share."
The private class action is a separate case
Drivers' own lawsuits against GM, OnStar, LexisNexis and Verisk were combined into In re: Consumer Vehicle Driving Data Tracking Litigation, MDL No. 3115, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. An MDL, or multidistrict litigation, gathers similar federal cases before one judge. On April 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. allowed key claims to proceed, including Federal Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act and unjust enrichment claims, according to the plaintiffs' law firms. That case seeks damages and has not settled. The Washington decree says it does not create or limit any private right of action.
Records worth keeping Keep any insurance renewal notices that cite a driving report, plus records of when you bought your GM vehicle and enrolled in OnStar. When GM's notice arrives, decide whether to request a copy of your data or ask GM to delete it.
What GM drivers can do now
There is nothing to file for the state settlement. Once GM's notice is posted, drivers can use its online privacy request form to ask for a copy of their data or its deletion. If you later get a notice about the MDL, it will explain who qualifies and what to do. For cases accepting claimants now, see our list of class action cases you can join.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
What happens next
The Washington decree's effective date is November 30, 2026, with the payment due 30 days later and GM's compliance deadlines running from there. The federal MDL continues on its own schedule. We will update this story with new court dates or notices.
Frequently asked questions
Why is GM paying 220 million dollars?
GM agreed to settle claims by 36 attorneys general that it sold Smart Driver driving and location data to data brokers for insurance use without telling drivers. GM did not admit wrongdoing.
Will I get money from the GM data settlement?
Not from this settlement. The money goes to the states, and no claim form was announced. A separate private class action could lead to payments if it succeeds or settles.
What was GM Smart Driver?
An OnStar feature GM released in 2015 that tracked braking, acceleration, cornering, speed, seat belt use, late-night driving and trip times. GM discontinued it in 2024.
Which data brokers got GM driving data?
Washington's complaint names Verisk Analytics, starting in 2015, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, starting in 2019.
Can I make GM delete my driving data?
Yes. The settlement requires GM to offer deletion and to send a copy of your data within 45 days of a request.
Is my state part of the GM settlement?
Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia joined. Montana is not on the list and filed its own lawsuit.
