Texas lawsuit: App software collected driving data, sold it to insurers [Video]

HOUSTON — The state of Texas is suing Allstate and its subsidiary Arity for allegedly collecting and selling drivers’ location data without consent through hidden software in mobile apps, marking the first state enforcement action of a comprehensive data privacy law.

The lawsuit, filed in Austin, claims Allstate built “the world’s largest driving behavior database” by gathering trillions of miles worth of location data from over 45 million consumers nationwide. According to the lawsuit, Allstate paid app developers, including Routely, Life360, GasBuddy, and Fuel Rewards, to embed tracking software that collected users’ driving behavior and location information from their cell phones.

The collected data was then allegedly used by Allstate and other insurance companies to justify increasing customers’ car insurance premiums during quote requests and coverage renewals.

“Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid mobile apps millions of dollars to install …