Are insurance apps watching you?

Jan emailed us with a question that many people have probably wondered about:

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The details vary depending on the program. However, many insurance apps collect several types of information.

For driving programs, apps may monitor:

The goal is to calculate a driving score. Safer drivers may receive a discount when the policy renews. Some insurance apps also ask for access to other phone data, such as Motion & Fitness or camera permissions.

On the health side, programs may connect to health and fitness platforms. If you grant permission, the app may read data such as:

It is important to understand that apps typically cannot see this data unless you grant access during setup. Still, many people click through permission screens quickly and later wonder what they agreed to share.

Location data alone can reveal a surprising amount about a person's life. It can show where you live, where you work and where you travel every day. Driving patterns can also reveal how often you are on the road at night or during busy traffic periods.

Health and fitness data can paint an even more personal picture. That does not mean insurers are secretly spying on everything in your phone. But the more permissions you grant, the more insight the app may gain into your routines and habits.

In most cases, yes. Insurance companies typically frame these programs as voluntary discount opportunities. If you enroll, you agree to share certain data that helps calculate a risk score.

If the data shows safe driving or healthy activity levels, you may receive a discount at renewal. However, if you decide you are uncomfortable with the tracking, you can usually opt out. Just keep in mind that the associated discount may disappear.

On iPhone:

Find the insurance app and adjust its access. You can often set location access to:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone's manufacturer

or

Find the insurance app and choose a more limited option, such as:

On iPhone:

Select the insurance app to see what information it can read. You can turn off specific categories of health data.

On Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone's manufacturer

There, you can see which apps have permission to read or write health and fitness data, such as activity or workout information. You can turn those permissions off if you prefer.

While you are already in your phone's Settings reviewing permissions, it is also worth checking access to:

Only allow the permissions the app truly needs to function. This follows a simple security principle called least privilege. Give an app the minimum access it needs to work. Not every permission it asks for. For example, a driving app may need motion data to measure braking. But it may not need continuous location tracking or access to health records. By limiting permissions, you reduce how much information the app collects.

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Insurance apps reflect a bigger shift in how companies assess risk. Instead of relying only on traditional factors like age or claims history, insurers can now measure behavior through the device in your pocket. That can reward safe drivers and active lifestyles. It can also create new privacy questions that many of you never expected to face when you downloaded an app. Jan's instinct to question what the app could access was exactly right. Before accepting a discount, take a few minutes to review permissions and decide what level of tracking you are comfortable with. Your phone holds a lot of personal information. It is worth making sure you stay in control of it.

Here is the question for you: Would you trade detailed data about your driving or health for a lower insurance bill? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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