SAN DIEGO — Many San Diegans use the GasBuddy mobile app as a user-friendly tool to check for the lowest gas prices around the county.
However, The New York Times has raised concerns recently over the app’s handling of peoples’ private information, claiming GasBuddy collects large amounts of your personal data and sells it to third parties, including information on your location and driving habits.
CBS 8 wants to show you how to protect your privacy by opting out of location sharing.
In the GasBuddy app, just tap the user icon and then go to Location Settings > Location Privacy, and then turn it off.
If you use an iPhone, you can disable tracking by going to your Settings > Privacy > Tracking, and then turn it off. You can also use the app without giving permission for location sharing by typing searching with your zip code instead of letting the app use your location automatically.
Unfortunately, the app collects a bunch of other data too, including your name, phone number, email, IP address, and more. Turning off your location data may only make a small impact on what GasBuddy is able to share with third parties and advertisers.
GasBuddy also features an option called ‘Drive,’ which tracks information about your driving habits. If you turn the Drive feature on, GasBuddy may share this information with auto insurance companies in order to predict your level of driver riskiness.
To further dig for you, CBS 8 reached out to GasBuddy for comment on these privacy concerns, and we’ve not heard back.
And one last piece of advice, if you’d like to avoid sharing all that personal information, you can always avoid the mobile app altogether and just use the browser-based search engine to find the cheapest gas in your neighborhood.
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