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Experts caution that vehicle tracking technology cannot be relied upon to recover stolen cars. Despite the promise of connected car features, there remains a significant discrepancy between what consumers expect and what the technology can realistically deliver. Thatcham Research, a car safety organization, highlights this growing gap, emphasizing the limitations of these systems in theft situations.
Ian Fogg, a smartphone analyst, experienced this firsthand when his Kia was taken from outside his home in March. Although Kia’s Connect service provided live location data of the vehicle, legal restrictions in the UK prevented this information from being used to track the car in real time. The manufacturer advised users to treat the service as a convenience feature rather than a security tool. Fogg explained the car was easily hacked, despite its advanced technology, saying, “It shouldn’t be this easy to nick a car when they cost an order of magnitude more than a phone and have similar radio technology.”
Fogg had multiple layers of technology in place: a hidden Apple Airtag, video footage from his doorbell capturing the theft, and access to the Kia Connect platform. However, thieves managed to disable the phone connection via the car’s entertainment system—a process designed to allow new owners to link their devices but exploited here without keys. The Apple Airtag helped track the vehicle temporarily until the thieves found and discarded it due to the sound alert feature, intended by Apple to prevent stalking. Despite repeatedly submitting requests to Kia for location data, Fogg only received delayed updates, sometimes up to two days after the fact, with the last known location being in Lithuania.
Kia clarified that its Connect service is intended for customer convenience and does not support live tracking for stolen vehicles due to legal constraints, particularly data protection laws like GDPR. Access to vehicle data by law enforcement requires specific authorization, which is rarely granted in typical theft cases. Consequently, sharing such information is at the discretion of manufacturers. While Kia offers a security tracking service in the United States for premium subscribers, this option is not available in the UK or Europe. Thatcham Research recommends car owners consider dedicated stolen vehicle tracking devices that operate with independent power sources and provide real-time monitoring through professional services, as most connected car apps are not designed to serve as a reliable security measure
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