JLR Telematics & Privacy: What Data Does Your Land Rover or Jaguar Collect?

JLR Telematics and Your Privacy: What You Need to Know

The Telematics Control Unit (TCU) in your Jaguar or Land Rover provides amazing features, but that connectivity comes with a trade-off: data collection. It's a topic that worries many drivers. So, what data is your car actually collecting, and who has access to it?

What Data Does the JLR TCU Collect and Transmit?

Your vehicle's TCU collects several types of data, which can be grouped into a few key categories:

• Vehicle Location Data: This includes your real-time GPS coordinates, used for navigation, Stolen Vehicle Tracking, and the ‘Journeys' feature in the InControl app.
• Driving Behavior Data: The system can record information about your driving style, such as speed, acceleration, and braking events. This is primarily used for the ‘Journeys' feature to calculate an efficiency score.
• Vehicle Health and Diagnostics Data: The TCU monitors the status of various vehicle systems and can report Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and other health information back to JLR. This helps with remote diagnostics and product improvement.
• Emergency Call (eCall) Data: In a crash, the system transmits critical data including your location, direction of travel, and the number of seatbelts fastened to emergency responders.

Who Uses This Data?

The data collected is used by several parties:

• You: Through the InControl Remote app to see your car's status and journey history.
• Jaguar Land Rover: For research and development (to improve future products) and to assist with warranty claims and remote diagnostics.
• Emergency Services: In the specific event of an eCall activation.
• Third Parties (with your consent): For services like usage-based insurance, you must explicitly opt-in to share your driving data with an insurance provider.

What Control Do You Have?

JLR provides users with control over their privacy through the InControl settings menu in the vehicle. You can typically choose between different privacy modes:

• Full Connectivity: All features and data sharing enabled.
• Journeys Off: This disables the tracking of your individual trips.
• Connectivity Off: This disables most data transmission, but may also turn off features like live traffic and remote app functionality. Note that SOS/eCall functionality can generally not be disabled by the user due to legal requirements in many regions.

Understanding the data your car collects is the first step to making informed decisions about your privacy. While the TCU is a powerful tool for convenience and safety, it's worth taking a moment to review your InControl privacy settings to ensure they are configured to your comfort level.