A Texas-based content creator recently pulled back the curtain on a practice that’s leaving many drivers feeling blindsided. The creator, ToTouchAnEmu, recently purchased a new truck. Not long after, he received an unexpected email that led him down a path to realize that there was a GPS tracking device in the vehicle. His resulting post on TikTok and Instagram racked up over 2.4 million views and got everyone talking about privacy laws.
As he gestured to his new truck, ToTouchAnEmu began his video by telling his viewers, “The other day I bought this truck, and I’m pretty sure my dealer hid a GPS tracker in there and didn’t tell me. So this company, CarRX, emails me and says, hey, your dealer paid for a year of our service. Congratulations. Just sign up on the website, and you’re good to go.”
He claimed, “So I dig into the terms and conditions, and of course, they’re gonna sell all your data to marketing firms and whatnot. Of course. But this is the interesting part. They can track everything about your car. Everything. Location, mileage, braking events, all of it. I start thinking, how do they know all that information about my car if they don’t have some sort of GPS tracker on it? And sure enough, a Google search confirmed it. There is probably a tracker on that car right now.”
An internet-armed scavenger hunt
ToTouchAnEmu decided to perform his own inspection. “According to the internet, these trackers are usually around the OBD (on-board diagnostics) port. So let’s take a look,” he noted while filming. He walked his audience over to his car. Then he crouched down to look under the dash and steering wheel.
At first, the port appeared empty, since nothing seemed to be plugged in. Then he dug further into the cables behind it. As he studied the pass-through cables for the OBD port, he noticed an out-of-place Y cable that seemed like it could come off. “Just pull on this and see what I can find,” he said. Then he started laughing as it led to a small rectangular device that was plugged in.
“Oh my god. Haha. And that confirms it.” He pulled it off and then zoomed it. “It’s got an IMI,” he alleged, “And so that means it has a SIM card in it. It can track you anywhere. The craziest part is that this was not sitting out for me to see, saying, hey, that’s your car. RX module. It was tucked away and hidden. They didn’t want me to find this.”
ToTouchAnEmu’s caption on the post perfectly captured the sentiment of many viewers. “The lengths these companies will go to collect every bit of data they can never ceases to amaze me…” One case in which the tracking became apparent is when Tesla remotely switched off the supercharging on a used vehicle.
On Instagram, one user wrote, “we need to elect people who make this illegal,” Another echoed the frustration by saying, “Invasion of privacy and illegal and unconstitutional.” Others pointed to the financial aspect, with one commenter noting, “Check your itemized purchase receipt, you probably paid for that. It was a $400 non-negotiable for me that I got them to remove.”
Over on TikTok, the sentiment was just as intense. One user commented, “So my question is where in your sales contract did they charge you for it. Cause the dealer didn’t pay for it, you did.” One TikToker let us know how common the practice is. They wrote, “i used to work at hyundai, they told us to install them on every car.”
According to Airpinpoint, dealer-installed GPS trackers are a standard condition of financing, particularly for Buy Here Pay Here dealerships. These devices are often installed during pre-delivery inspections. While the primary motivation for these dealerships is repossession in case a customer defaults on a loan, the devices are capable of much more. Modern units can monitor vehicle speed, engine on/off events, and even remotely disable a vehicle.
Airpinpoint highlights that this location data is stored on third-party servers and can be vulnerable to breaches. In 2019, for example, a security researcher found vulnerabilities in one platform that exposed real-time location data for over 15 million vehicles. Furthermore, once a loan is paid off, these trackers often remain in the vehicle because dealers frequently lack a systematic process for deactivation.
For those who want to reclaim their privacy, Airpinpoint suggests a systematic physical inspection of the vehicle. Common hiding spots include behind the dashboard panel, inside the front bumper, under the seats, or even inside the engine bay fuse box. As the creator’s video proves, knowing where to look is the first step in taking control of your own data.
Published: Aug 25, 2026 08:59 am