Ford Still Wants To Track Your Every Movement

Ford, along with some other automakers, has a bit of a creepy history with wanting to track people’s every movement. That strange saga continues with news of the Blue Oval filing a patent for a tracking system that works even if someone disables tracking on the vehicle.

A big Cybertruck design flaw has been exposed.

Just like any technology, we can see how such a thing could be used for good or ill. For example, a lot of thieves disable factory GPS trackers when they take a car, so being able to still track the vehicle could help in its quick recovery.

However, there’s the risk that automakers or others, like government agencies, marketing firms, etc. could abuse the technology to see where people drive, learning more about their habits. If you think that’s a stretch, just remember the infamous Infrastructure Bill passed a few years ago included exploring the idea of taxing citizens for each mile driven.

This patent, which was uncovered by Ford Authority, apparently was originally filed back in May 2023 but published in November 2024.

From the sound of the patent, the backup tracking system sounds to us similar to how Apple AirTags work. Once the long-range GPS tracker is disabled, the backup tracker with a range of under 100 meters communicates with other vehicles wirelessly, relaying the approximate location back to the data cloud.

Another question we have about this tech is won’t thieves just learn how to disable the backup tracking system, too? That’s the beauty of these aftermarket solutions is there are so many, thieves can’t learn how to spot, let alone disable, all of them.

Plus, automaker vehicle trackers have been abused in the past. Some car companies have been nailed for selling drivers’ info to insurance companies and marketing firms, so who’s to say vehicle location info wouldn’t be sold  to the highest bidder in the future?

Image via Ford