ONSTAR PRIVACY STATEMENT-
HIGHLIGHTS
Effective
December 7, 2015
General Motors of Canada Company (formerly known as General Motors of Canada Limited)
, ("OnStar" or "we") wants you to
know how it collects, uses, and shares Account Information, Vehicle-Related
Information, and Driving Information (as described below and defined in the
full Privacy Statement). Below is a short description of our practices relating
to the collection, use and sharing of this information. You can read the full
Privacy Statement below for more detailed information.
·
People Covered by This Privacy
Statement; Related and Other Privacy Statements
This
Privacy Statement applies to you, vehicle occupants, and others who use your
vehicle, the OnStar services (described in the OnStar User Terms and at www.onstar.ca)or
our website(s). Other privacy statements may also apply to additional services
that you request or sign up for, or when you use or download OnStar Apps, such
as our RemoteLink App. Those privacy statements
should be read together with this one. Other third party services or
applications, like your wireless data plan, may also have their own privacy
statements. Those statements have separate terms and should be read
independently of this Privacy Statement.
·
Information Collected by OnStar
OnStar
collects the following types of information about you and your vehicle:
·
Account Information,
like your contact and billing information and information about how you use
certain OnStar services and our website(s);
·
Vehicle-Related Information,
like diagnostic information, odometer, oil life remaining, tire pressure, and
information about collisions involving your vehicle; and
·
Driving Information,
like location, GPS speed, safety belt usage, and other similar information about
how the vehicle is used.
We
collect this information from a variety of sources, like you, your vehicle
(when the OnStar system is active), our website(s), and third parties.
·
OnStar's Use of the Information
OnStar
uses this information to, for example:
·
provide certain services to you;
·
fix, maintain, enhance and/or modify the
OnStar system or services;
·
to analyze the software on your vehicle
and to remotely update the software;
·
to communicate with you; and
·
to
provide you with offers that might interest you.
We
may use information for any purpose or share it with any third party if we
anonymize it so that it no longer reasonably identifies you or your vehicle.
·
Sharing of Information – Driving
Information (location, GPS speed, safety belt usage and other similar
information about how the vehicle is used)
We
limit who we share your Driving Information with and the purposes for which it
can be used. For example, Driving Information may be shared with:
·
emergency service providers and law
enforcement when you need emergency services or if your vehicle is stolen;
·
GM for product safety or security
purposes or to help maintain the proper operation of your vehicle;
·
our service providers to help us provide
or evaluate certain services; and
·
any
third party to comply with legal requests or to protect the rights and safety
of you or others.
·
Sharing of Information – Account
Information and Vehicle-Related Information
We
may share your Account Information and Vehicle-Related Information with
·
third parties as part of our delivery of
the Services; for joint marketing initiatives; and in order to comply with
legal requests or to protect the rights and safety of you or others:
·
GM to enable it to evaluate or research
the safety, quality, usage, and functionality of its vehicles, to contact you,
or for marketing purposes;
·
your dealer for service, maintenance, or
marketing purposes; and
·
your
fleet or rental company, if the vehicle you drive is part of a fleet or is a
rental car.
·
Security; Retention of Information
Because
the security of your information is important to OnStar, we use technical,
administrative, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information.
We may keep information for as long as we need it for purposes like:
·
providing Services to you;
·
enabling us or GM to contact you; and
·
allowing
us or GM to engage in research, evaluation of use, and troubleshooting.
We
will anonymize or dispose of the information we collect when we no longer need
it.
THE ONSTAR PRIVACY STATEMENT
Effective
December 7, 2015
This
Privacy Statement applies to Account Information, Vehicle-Related Information
and Driving Information (defined below) that we obtain about you, your vehicle,
or your use of the vehicle. We collect this information when the OnStar system
in your vehicle is active, when you use the OnStar services described in the
OnStar User Terms and at www.onstar.ca
(the "Services"), when you use our website(s), when we obtain the
information from other companies, or when we obtain the information from any
other source that links to, presents, or refers to this Privacy Statement.
We
may anonymize the information we collect. That means that we alter the
information so that it can't reasonably be identified with you or your vehicle.
We may use anonymized information for any purpose or share it with any third
party for any purpose.
|
People Covered by This Privacy Statement; Related and Other Privacy
Statements This Privacy Statement applies to you
and to others who use your vehicle, the Services, or our website(s). Other
privacy statements may also apply to additional Services that you request or
sign up for, or when you use or download OnStar Apps, such as our RemoteLink App. Those privacy statements should be read
together with this one. Other third party services or applications, like your
wireless data plan, may also have their own privacy statements. Those
statements have separate terms and should be read independently of this
Privacy Statement. |
When
we use words like "you," your," and "yours," we mean
the owner, lessee, or user of an OnStar-equipped vehicle operating and designed
for use in Canada. Please note that this Privacy Statement applies any person
who uses an OnStar-equipped vehicle, our website(s) or the Services, regardless
of whether the person owns, rents, leases, or borrows the vehicle. If you own
or lease your vehicle and anyone else uses your vehicle or the Services, or if
you sell or otherwise transfer possession of your vehicle to another person,
please tell that person that there are OnStar Services active on your vehicle,
and that they should read this Privacy Statement.
When
we say "OnStar" or "we" or "us" or similar words,
we mean General Motors of Canada Company. We may share or disclose some
information with General Motors Company ("GM"), the company that owns
us, and its affiliates, including OnStar, LLC.
Related
Privacy Statements
Some
Services, and OnStar applications and software ("OnStar Apps"), such
as the OnStar RemoteLink App, that
we may offer now or in the future are governed by separate privacy statements
that should be read together with this Privacy Statement. These privacy
statements are available at www.onstar.ca.
Other
Privacy Statements
Third
parties, such as those companies that provide wireless voice, wireless data,
and satellite radio services also have their own privacy statements. Those
privacy statements are separate from this Privacy Statement and their terms are
different. Please also refer to those privacy statements for information about
how your information is collected, used, and shared. The AT&T privacy
statement, which governs how AT&T treats information collected when
providing wireless data services to you, is available at www.att.com/CANTermsandconditions.
|
Information Collected by OnStar We collect information from you, from
your vehicle (when the OnStar system is active), from our website(s), and
from other third parties. We collect the following types of information about
or relating to you or your vehicle: Account
Information, like your contact and billing information as well as certain
website usage information; Vehicle-Related
Information, like diagnostic information, odometer, oil life remaining
and, tire pressure and, Driving
Information, like location, GPS speed, safety belt usage and other
similar information about how the vehicle is used. |
Information
Collected by OnStar
We
collect the following kinds of information from you, from GM or its affiliates,
from your dealer, through our website(s), from the active OnStar system in your
vehicle, and from other companies as described further below.
·
"Account Information"
includes:
o
Information about you, like your name,
address, telephone number, e-mail address, log-in information and PIN, license
plate number, and emergency contact information;
o
Your billing information, like your
credit card number;
o
Information about the acquisition of
your vehicle, like the date of purchase or lease of your vehicle and your
selling and preferred dealer;
o
Information about how you use your
vehicle's features and systems (including the OnStar system), like whether you
have paired a mobile device with your vehicle and your use of the Services,
(but does not include Driving Information as described below);
o
Information about the device(s) you use
to access our website(s), how you use our website(s), and your online
activities over time and across different websites(s) including your IP
address, device type, browser version, the pages you view, the searches you
make, and your operating system (this information typically does not identify
you); and
·
"Vehicle-Related Information"
includes:
o
Information about your vehicle, like the
vehicle's identification number ("VIN"), its make, model and year;
o
Information about your vehicle's
condition, like diagnostic data, odometer readings, oil life remaining, tire
pressure, fuel economy;
o
Information about when your vehicle is
refueled or recharged;
o
Information that might indicate that your
vehicle has been broken into or stolen, like glass breakage or ignition switch
activity, if your vehicle is equipped to detect those things:
o
Information about apps that are
pre-installed on the OnStar equipment, including the version of those apps;
o
Information about the OnStar equipment,
including the version of the OnStar software installed on that equipment;
o
Information about when your vehicle's
ignition is on or off; and
o
Information about collisions involving
your vehicle, like the direction from which impact happened and which air bags
deployed.
·
"Driving Information"
includes:
o
Information like the location of your
vehicle, the GPS speed of your vehicle, your safety belt usage, and other
similar information about how the vehicle is used.
How
OnStar Collects the Information
We
collect the information described above from you (such as when you use a
website, or talk to an OnStar advisor), from your vehicle (usually by remote
communication using the OnStar equipment in your vehicle), and from other sources,
such as the manufacturer, your dealer and others.
|
OnStar's Use of the Information OnStar uses the Account
Information, Vehicle-Related Information, and Driving Information to provide
Services to you, to remotely deliver and install updates to the software on
your vehicle, to fix, maintain, or improve the OnStar system or Services, to
communicate with you, and to provide you with offers that may interest you. |
· OnStar's
Use of the Information
OnStar may use your Account Information,
Vehicle-Related Information, and Driving Information for the following
purposes.
o
To provide Services to you, including
checking, maintaining, and updating the OnStar system;
o
To collect information about vehicle
system status, identify if system or software updates are available and to
remotely deliver and install the updates;
o
To communicate with you about your
account or the Services;
o
To provide you with offers for products
or services that may interest you, including online offers based on your
previous online activities and, with your prior additional consent, offers
based on the location of your vehicle;
o
For troubleshooting, evaluation of use,
and research;
o
To improve our products and Services;
o
To protect the safety of you or others;
o
To prevent and detect fraud or misuse of
the OnStar service; and
o
As required by law.
|
Sharing of Information – Driving Information (location, GPS speed,
safety belt usage and other similar information about how the vehicle is
used) We limit who we share your Driving
Information with and the purposes for which it can be used. For example,
Driving Information may be shared with: emergency service providers and law
enforcement when you need emergency services or if your vehicle is stolen;
with GM for product safety or security purposes, to protect the safety of you
or others, or to help maintain the proper operation of your vehicle; with
appropriate third parties to comply with legal requests or to protect the
rights and safety of you and others; and with our service providers to help
us provide or evaluate the Services. |
Sharing
of Information – Driving Information (location, GPS speed, safety belt usage
and other similar information about how the vehicle is used)
We
may share your Driving Information with the third parties listed below, for the
following purposes:
·
Emergency Service Providers,
like the police, roadside assistance providers, ambulance providers, or other
similar emergency service providers, to give you the emergency services you
need;
·
Law Enforcement,
to provide the OnStar Stolen Vehicle Assistance Services that have been
requested by you, like Remote Ignition Block and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, if
your vehicle is equipped with these features;
·
GM or its affiliates,
for product safety or security purposes, to protect the safety of you or
others, or to help maintain the proper operation of your vehicle. For example,
we may share this information with GM or its affiliates in determining whether
to perform a remote software update or change to the software in your vehicle
and to deliver and install the update;
·
Other parties with your prior permission,
to provide you with the services you have specifically requested or subscribed
to, like your insurance provider if you choose to participate in a discount
based program based on your Driving Information (e.g., a safe driver program);
·
Our service providers,
like companies that store or process information on our behalf, that help us
provide the Services or operate our business;
·
A company that buys or takes over our
business,
to enable it to provide the Services, or to operate the business; and
·
Appropriate third parties,
in order to comply with legal obligations, to protect the safety or rights of
you or others, or in response to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other
legal request.
We
will not otherwise share your Driving Information with unaffiliated third
parties unless you provide your prior additional consent.
|
Sharing of Information – Account Information and Vehicle-Related
Information We may share your
Account Information and Vehicle-Related Information with third parties as
part of our delivery of the Services; for joint marketing initiatives; and in
order to comply with legal requests or to protect the rights and safety of
you and others. We may also share this information with GM or its affiliates
to enable it or them to evaluate or research the safety, quality, usage, and
functionality of its vehicles, to contact you, or for marketing purposes. We
may share information about how you use our website(s) with third parties. We
may share information with your dealer for service, maintenance, or marketing
purposes. We may also share information with your fleet or rental company. |
Sharing
of Information – Account Information and Vehicle-Related Information
We
may share your Account Information and Vehicle-Related Information with third
parties for the purposes outlined below. Your Driving Information is not shared
with these third parties unless otherwise stated above.
·
Emergency service providers, law
enforcement, roadside assistance providers, and other similar third parties,
that help us deliver the Services;
·
Our service providers,
like companies that store or process information on our behalf, that help us deliver
advertising to you, that help us provide or evaluate the Services, or that help
us operate our business;
·
Your dealer, to assist it in
servicing your vehicle, for marketing purposes or to provide Dealer Maintenance
notifications;
·
Satellite radio providers and wireless
telecommunications and data service providers, to contact you with
information about your satellite, wireless telecommunications or data services,
or for marketing purposes;
·
Third parties with whom we contract
to provide you with joint marketing offers. We will not share your Driving
Information or your credit card information with unaffiliated third parties
without your prior additional consent;
·
Third party advertising companies
that may automatically collect or receive information about your online
activities over time and across different websites (see the Cookies and Other
Tracking Technologies section for more information);
·
Your fleet company
if the vehicle is a part of a fleet;
·
Your rental company
if the vehicle is a rental car;
·
GM or its affiliates to
enable it to evaluate or research the safety, quality, usage and functionality
of its vehicles, to contact you, or for its marketing purposes;
·
A company that buys or takes over our
business,
to provide the Services, any other services you have requested, or to operate
the business;
·
Other parties you ask us to share the
information with, like third parties who need the information to
provide you with a program or service that you have requested; and
·
Appropriate third parties,
in order to comply with legal obligations, protect the safety or rights of you
or others, or when we receive a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal
request.
We
will only share your credit card information with wireless service providers
(e.g. AT&T), credit card processors, or systems providers necessary to
process, store or manage credit card information, with a company that buys or
takes over our business or with appropriate third parties to comply with legal
obligations.
|
Your Choices; How OnStar Communicates
with You; Access to Your Information We may offer you certain choices about the information we
collect and how we use or share the information. You can access and correct
your contact and account information. |
· Your
Choices About the Collection, Use and Sharing of Information
You have certain choices about the
information we collect and how we use or share that information. For example,
you may choose not to receive marketing information from us.
Some collection and sharing practices
are tied to the Services we offer. To stop the collection or sharing of some
information, you may have to decline those Services or be willing to accept
limited functionality.
To learn about the choices available to
you, please contact us at privacymanager@onstar.com.
See the Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies for your choices regarding the
collection of information via cookies.
· How
OnStar Communicates with You
We may contact you about products or
services that may be of interest to you, about your account, your vehicle or
the Services (including cancellation of the Services) using postal mail,
telephone calls, e-mail, text messages (sometimes called SMS messages), or
other electronic messages using any electronic address you have provided to us.
We may communicate using pre-recorded
spoken messages through the OnStar system to give you information about the
Services, your vehicle, your account, or cancellation of the Services.
You can manage your communication
preferences by following the instructions that may be provided in the
communication, or by contacting us. See "How to Contact OnStar."
Please Note: We offer you the ability to
opt out of receiving certain kinds of communications from us, such as
marketing-related messages. Please be aware that opting out of one kind of
communication does not affect communications that you have not opted out of
receiving, or that we are required or permitted by law to send to you.
· Access
to Your Information
If you'd like to access or ensure the
accuracy of the contact or Account Information that you have provided, please
contact us. See "How to Contact OnStar."
To the extent required by applicable
law, we provide access to records of service events, like when you request
service, when an OnStar advisor calls in to your vehicle, or when we provide
crash-related, theft- related, or emergency services.
|
Security; Retention of Information We use
technical, administrative, and physical safeguards designed to help protect
your information. We and our service providers may process and store
information about you or your vehicle in Canada, the United States, or other
jurisdictions from which the Services will be provided and where the privacy
laws may be different from those in Canada. We may keep information for as
long as we need it for purposes like: providing Services to you; to enable us
or GM or its affiliates to contact you; for our or GM's, or its affiliates'
research, evaluation of use, and troubleshooting purposes. |
· How
OnStar Safeguards Your Information
We use technical, administrative, and
physical safeguards designed to help protect your information from loss, misuse
and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, destruction or theft.
If we transfer, or otherwise make
information that identifies you or your vehicle available to a third-party
service provider (other than in an emergency situation), we will contractually
require any such service providers maintain similar technical, physical and
administrative safeguards designed to protect your information from loss, misuse
and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, destruction or theft.
· Where
Information is Processed or Stored
We and our service providers may process
and store the information described in this Privacy Statement in Canada, the
United States, or other jurisdictions from which the Services will be provided
and where the privacy laws may be different from those in Canada. Information
may be available to the government or its agencies in the country where the
data is processed or stored under a lawful order in that country. You may
contact us, as set out below, in order to find out about our practices in this
regard.
· How
Long OnStar Keeps Your Information
We may keep the information we collect
until we no longer need the information to provide Services to you, to operate
our business, to enable us or GM or its affiliates to communicate with you, for
our or GM's or its affiliates' safety, research, evaluation of use, or
troubleshooting purposes, or to satisfy our or GM's or its affiliates' legal or
contractual obligations.
We will anonymize or dispose of the
information we collect when we no longer need it.
|
Cookies and Other
Tracking Technologies We use "cookies" and similar tracking
technologies to improve your user experience and to operate our website(s),
and for marketing. You can refuse cookies by choosing the appropriate
settings in your web browser. |
· Cookies
and Other Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and other methods on our
website(s) and in the OnStar system in your vehicle to operate our website(s),
to provide you with offers that may interest you (including on third-party
websites), and to personalize the content we present you on our website(s) or
in your vehicle. Some cookies exist only during a particular session and some
are persistent over multiple sessions over time.
These methods can
allow you to maintain your account log-in information and other information
between visits and they allow us to measure site activity to provide a better
user experience. For example, cookies and other tracking devices may be used to
tell us the time and length of your visit, the pages you look at on our site,
the site you visited just before coming to ours, the name of your Internet
service provider, and similar information.
We may use advertising service providers
to serve OnStar advertisements on other websites that you visit. In serving
OnStar advertisements, these companies may use cookies and other tracking
devices to collect information about your visits to other websites, like
browser type, IP address, which page was visited, and time of day. We use this
information to evaluate our online advertising campaigns or to tailor
promotions and other marketing messages to you.
Third parties whose websites or other
resources you use might also use cookies or other tracking methods. The privacy
practices of those third parties are covered by their own privacy statements.
We encourage you to read them.
If you do not want our website(s) to
collect information through the use of cookies, you can set your web browser to
reject cookies. Each browser is different, so you should check your browser's
"Help" menu to learn how to change your cookie preferences. If you reject
or block cookies, however, our website(s) may not function as intended. In
addition to our advertising service providers, other online network advertising
companies may use cookies or other technologies on our website(s) or Services
to collect information about your online activities over time and across
different websites and services. You may also be able to exercise choices
regarding such companies via certain third party tools. Read more information
about such choices http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
and http://www.aboutads.info/choices/.
Most web browsers include a "do not
track" setting. However, there is a lack of certainty or consistency with
respect to what impact that setting should have on the information collected or
on a user's browsing experience. Accordingly, and consistently with respect to
the operation of many websites, if you enable that setting, it will not change
what information is exchanged with your computer, or how that information is
used, when you visit our website(s).
|
Changes to This Privacy
Statement We'll post any revised Privacy Statement to the OnStar
website (www.onstar.com). If we make a
material change, we'll notify you, otherwise bring the change to your
attention, or where required by law, get your consent. |
· Changes
to This Privacy Statement
We may need to update this Privacy
Statement from time to time as our business and Services expand or change, or
if we are required to by law. If we do, we will post the most up-to-date
version on the OnStar website (www.onstar.ca) so you should
periodically check for any updates.
If we materially change the practices
stated in this Privacy Statement and you're an OnStar customer, we will notify
you by sending an e-mail to the email address that you have provided or, if you
do not have an e-mail address on file with us, we will send the notice by
postal mail or otherwise take reasonable steps to bring the change to your
attention.
We'll get your consent to the changes if
legally required.
|
How to Contact OnStar You can contact us by
pressing the blue OnStar button in your vehicle, by calling us at 1
888-4ONSTAR, or by regular mail. For privacy related questions, email the
OnStar Privacy Manager at privacymanager@onstar.com. |
· How
to Contact OnStar
If you have a general question, you can
visit our website at www.onstar.ca,
press the blue OnStar button in your vehicle, or call us at 1-888-4ONSTAR
(1-888-466-7827). You may write to us at OnStar Subscriber Services, PO Box
1027, Warren, Michigan USA 48090-1027.
If you have a specific question about
our privacy practices, contact the OnStar Privacy Manager by e-mail at privacymanager@onstar.com,
or write to OnStar's Privacy Manager at OnStar Privacy Manager, P.O. Box 1027,
Warren, Michigan, 48090-1027, or call us at 1-877-299-1372.
Frequently Asked Questions
·
Will OnStar collect information from my
vehicle if I cancel all OnStar Services?
No. Once the cancellation request has
been processed, we'll no longer collect information from your vehicle using the
OnStar equipment or services unless you press the blue OnStar button or ask us
to collect information again, like by reactivating Services.
You must cancel all Onstar Services
before you sell or transfer your vehicle. You can do this by contacting us at
1-888-4ONSTAR or by pressing the blue button in your vehicle.
·
What information does OnStar share with
GM?
When we talk about "GM," we
mean General Motors Company and its affiliates, including General Motors of Canada Company.
We share your Account Information and
Vehicle-Related Information with GM to enable GM to evaluate or research the
safety, quality, usage, and functionality of its vehicles, to contact you with
information about your vehicle, or for marketing purposes.
We may also share your Driving
Information with GM for product safety and security purposes, to protect the
safety of you or others, or to help maintain the proper operation your vehicle.
For example, we may share this information when determining whether to perform
a software or systems update or upgrade for your vehicle.
If a company buys or takes over the
business of GM, we would share the same information with that company.
·
What Information Does OnStar Share with
AT&T?
We share your name, billing address,
home address, phone number, e-mail address, and details about your acceptance
of the terms and privacy statements that apply to your request for, or use of,
data services. If we receive any updates for that information, we share those
updates with AT&T.
If a credit card is stored on file with
OnStar for purchase of a data plan with AT&T, or a one-time payment method
is provided, we send the credit card number, expiration date, first and last
name, and billing address, and details about the voice or data package that you
purchased.
The information that we share with
AT&T, as well as any other information that AT&T collects from or about
you, will be subject to AT&T's privacy policy. You should read AT&T's
privacy policy at www.att.com/CANTermsandconditions
to find out how AT&T collects, uses, and shares your information.
·
What should I do to help safeguard my
information?
Keep your username, service set ID (or
"SSID," which is the unique number associated with the OnStar equipment
in your vehicle) and password secret. Don't give your PIN to anyone you don't
want to use the Services or incur charges that you must pay.
You are responsible for any use of the
Services by persons who give us your PIN or password. We cannot be responsible
for any unauthorized use of the Services by persons who give us your PIN or
password. Contact us to change your PIN.
It's illegal for people to intercept
wireless telephone calls, but some people do it. Be cautious of what
information you disclose on any wireless telephone call.
·
Can OnStar hear what's going on in my
vehicle?
Our advisors cannot listen to anything
going on in your vehicle without you knowing it. An advisor can only hear
sounds from your vehicle if you call an OnStar advisor or an OnStar advisor
calls in to your vehicle. If an OnStar advisor calls in to your vehicle, you'll
know because:
o
A light will flash;
o
You'll hear a ring; and;
o
The radio will mute.
In addition, calls through the OnStar
system are normally audible through the stereo speakers and vehicles that have
text display capabilities will indicate that a call is occurring. On top of
that, OnStar requires its advisors to announce their presence immediately upon
establishing a call into your vehicle.
We designed these measures so that our
advisors cannot override them.
·
Does OnStar keep recordings of my
interactions with OnStar advisors?
We may record and monitor all
interactions between us (including interactions when you are in your vehicle)
in order to maintain or improve the quality of our Services or for training
purposes.
OnStar advisors may also remain on the
line if, during a request for services, we conference in a third party like an
emergency service provider or the police. These parties may also separately
record and/or monitor the interaction. We may also review your interactions
with OnStar's automated Services for training and/or quality improvement
purposes.