Pensacola Car Rental: Bluetooth and Privacy

Our Pensacola car rental team knows how easy it is to drive off the lot, plug in your cell phone, touch the Bluetooth buttons and start making calls. The music is entertaining, and you and your friends are enjoying your road trip to your next destination. When your trip ends, right before you drop off the car at the rental company, you unplug your USB port and walk away. It is unsafe, and the Guardian Rent-A-Car team will tell you why.

News sources have discovered that rental customers are leaving behind their contact information that can be visible to the next person that rents their last car. In most cases, car rental companies don’t have the time to erase data from cars especially when one person drops off a car, and within minutes another person rents it.

CBC’s Research Findings

The CBC News recently did a test by pairing an employee’s phone to a car rented by a rental company. The names of 3 previous drivers displayed on the screen of the ‘my contacts’ list. The news reporter called each phone number, and when told about the warning the previous drivers were in shock. Studies show that old address, phone numbers in address books and favorites can also be retrieved when customers don’t delete their information.

The news outlet mentioned that it is difficult for car rental companies to train all of their staff on how to do this when there are so many customers that come in and out. One couple that interviewed shared their story that after purchasing a luxury car from their local dealership, a photo of the two showed up on the internet.

One way that Pensacola car rental customers need to think is renting a car like sharing a laptop. You always want to remove personal documents before you let someone else use it.

How to Delete Data on Your Rental Car

Our team read a recent article on Cnet.com on how to remove your personal data before you drop off a car.

  1. Remove the address book details

When you use the Bluetooth feature to make hands-free calls, make sure to clear all calls, saved numbers, and other information. Go into the Bluetooth setup menu and delete your phone that is on the Paired Phones list to clear the log. If that doesn’t work, clear the private data or press the factory reset option on the menu.

  1. Remove All Information from the Cloud

The most innovative cars have web-connected services that collect data from apps and social-networking services. There are luxury cars on the market that keep a record of your Facebook events, Yelp reviews, and Google searches.

Our Pensacola Car Rental Teams Final Thoughts

We hope that our blog provides you with helpful tips the next time you visit Guardian Rent-A-Car. Our Pensacola car rental team of professionals are here to get you into a car with minimal effort on your part so you can go to your next destination. Schedule your next rental vehicle with us today.

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