Car manufacturers are monitoring driver behaviour and personal information through software installed in their vehicles, Dutch motoring organisation ANWB said on Wednesday.

The organisation says information about where cars have parked and the routes they have travelled is being stored on the vehicles’ hard drives, as well as phone numbers, email addresses and photographs taken by mobile phone.

For example, the on-board computer registers driving style and how often the seat belts are tightened due to sudden breaking. This could lead to a loss of warranty or even police fines for traffic offences.

‘We have no idea what the manufacturers are doing with this information,’ a spokesman told RTL news. The computer connection also increases car owners’ dependency on licenced dealers and makes them vulnerable to hacking and theft, the organisation says.

The ANWB is joining forces with other European motoring organisations to try to boost privacy protection for motorists.