A Redditor was in for a shock. Their wife is part of the local police department’s outreach “Citizens Police Academy.” One day, she came home from the weekly training session and said the police Sergeant had casually mentioned that all vehicles newer than 2018 “are trackable.” So the Redditor took the /r/Autos forum to find out if it’s true that police track your car.

Reddit commenters had a range of helpful information. One pointed out that any vehicle with a “911” emergency call feature–such as GM’s OnStar–is technically trackable. And that feature debuted in 1996.

“The Zebra” insurance marketplace that recently broke down the five ways new cars can track you. Two of these categories are not especially applicable. One is the “EDR” or “black box” in almost every car. These record data such as driving behavior and speed to help authorities after a crash. But they are sealed and not accessible before. Another category is the telematics devices many insurance companies offer to drivers. If you volunteer to carry one in your car, and it records safe driving habits, you may be eligible for lower premiums. But this is a device you would know about because you tossed it in your glovebox yourself.

Yes, your car can track your location data

The main way cars track your whereabouts are the GPS devices in the cars themselves. Many vehicles, even made before 2018, have this feature. Automakers must include it in the legal paperwork you sign when you buy the car. But they don’t broadcast the feature. According to Mozilla, automakers are worse about selling your advertising data than most other consumer products–including your personal electronics. And this includes your location data. During a survey of the privacy agreement each automaker makes drivers sign, Mozilla covered law enforcement.

“A surprising number (56%) also say they can share your information with the government or law enforcement in response to a ‘request.’ Not a high bar court order, but something as easy as an ‘informal request.'”

— Mozilla Foundation

Some vehicles offer a way to disable this GPS tracking, but it is not the only way automakers collect location data on you.

Automakers may track you when you aren’t in your car

Another major source of advertising data is your infotainment system. When you pair your phone with your vehicle, the vehicle may be collecting location data from your phone. So the automaker may end up with location data from when you parked the car and were walking around! Investigative reporter Louis Bolden found your car’s infotainment system may collect your phone’s address book, call logs, text messages, and photos–in addition to locations data. Law enforcement may be able to get ahold of all this information with the proper court orders.

A third major source of advertising data is the automaker’s app on your phone. That app, that may give you information on your car or even allow you to remotely unlock it, is free for a reason. With default permissions, it can collect data from your phone and from other apps on your phone. You can see CNBC’s dive into automotive data privacy in the video embedded below: