I tried a $99 plug that promises to track your car and send help when needed — without selling your data

Key points

• Miles Plug costs $99 plus $180 a year, or $396 for a three-year plan.
• It tracks location, driving habits and vehicle health, with crash alerts and roadside help.
• Cofounder Matt McGovren says Miles never sells vehicle, trip or location data.

Miles Labs has launched the Miles Plug, a $99 device that fits into a car's OBD-II port and monitors location, driving habits and vehicle health, with emergency accident response and roadside assistance. It connects to an app that sends real-time alerts and trip recaps, and includes an AI chatbot called the Miles Mechanic that explains warning lights and estimates repair costs. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy tested it in her 2014 Toyota Highlander after her 15-year-old daughter got a learner's permit.

The Plug is sold at mileslabs.com for $99 plus $180 for a year of membership, $279 in total or $15 a month. A three-year plan costs $396 with the Plug included, or $11 a month. All plans are paid upfront with no auto-renewal, and Miles says the device works with most gas and hybrid cars from 2008 onward and some EVs.

Data privacy promises

Cofounders Matt McGovren and Kit Klein previously worked at Wink and at Amazon's Ring and Blink. McGovren said Miles will never sell vehicle, trip or location data and that the app carries no ads. He said vehicle and trip data is encrypted, with the most sensitive data end-to-end encrypted, and that location data is tied to the car rather than the phone. Users can download their data, stop location collection and delete their account and all its data.

You’re the customer, you’re not the product. Your data is not the product.

— Matt McGovren

Early test impressions

Setup was simple, and the app identified the car correctly after reading its VIN. It logged trips with route, distance, time and driver initials, and arrived- and left-home alerts came through promptly. The events tab flagged hard acceleration and three hard-braking alerts on one trip, and the Mechanic chatbot gave maintenance due at about 140,000 and 142,500 miles.

McGovren said the device sleeps when the car is off and has no material impact on the battery, advising removal during long periods without driving. He said the company is "well capitalized" and offers a 60-day money-back guarantee. Tuohy said she had not tested it long enough to comment on battery drain and plans a fuller review.