{"id":8990,"date":"2026-10-20T00:33:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8990"},"modified":"2026-10-20T00:33:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:33:19","slug":"miles-plug-vehicle-tracking-data-privacy-specs-price-launch-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8990","title":{"rendered":"Hands-on with the Miles Plug: A $99 device that promises to track your car without selling your data"},"content":{"rendered":"


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My 15-year-old daughter just got her learner\u2019s permit, so when I was pitched a new gadget tailored to teen drivers, I was intrigued. The Miles Plug<\/a> is a small device that plugs into your car\u2019s OBD-II port and monitors location, driving habits, and vehicle health, along with emergency accident response and roadside assistance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The idea is that knowing all these things should help me feel more comfortable when my daughter starts driving alone. I tested the (now discontinued) Ring Car Cam<\/a> when my son was learning to drive, but he hated it and refused to turn it on; I wondered if the Miles could provide the same peace of mind without feeling as intrusive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Miles Plug is a small device without a screen or battery that plugs into your car\u2019s OBD-II port,<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This is the rear. It slotted into the port on my Toyota easily.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Billed as \u201ca wearable for your car,\u201d Miles is a tiny cellular and GPS-enabled device that connects to an app to deliver real-time location, alerts, and driving insights (speeding, hard braking, trip recaps). The app also features an AI chatbot called the Miles Mechanic that decodes warning lights, tells you how urgent a fix is, and estimates repair costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Miles was developed by cofounders Matt McGovren and Kit Klein, who have a solid smart home pedigree. They worked at Wink in the early days and bring combined experience from Amazon (Ring and Blink), Ubiquiti\u2019s smart home line, and other companies. \u201cWe built Miles to support teens and parents together, and keep them on the same team,\u201d said McGovren in a press release<\/a>. \u201cParents and teens see the same trips and the same alerts with nothing hidden, building trust instead of suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You\u2019re the customer, you\u2019re not the product. Your data is not the product.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt McGovren<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Miles is available today at mileslabs.com<\/a> and costs $99, plus $180 for a year of membership ($279 total, or $15 a month). A three-year plan is $396 with the Plug included ($11 a month). All plans are paid upfront with no auto-renewal. Anyone in the family can download and use the app, with each driver getting their own profile and alerts. Miles says it\u2019s compatible with most gas and hybrid cars from 2008 onward and some EVs (there\u2019s a compatibility checker<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While the prices seem steep, McGovren\u2019s pitch is that it covers several services you might already be paying for: \u201cYou could piece together a roadside service, a family tracking service \u2026 and then you\u2019re looking at $30, $40 a month,\u201d he said in an interview with The Verge.<\/em> And, unlike your car\u2019s own branded app<\/a>, Miles isn\u2019t selling your data. Automakers have been caught collecting and selling<\/a> driving data, with GM being banned from selling data<\/a> to brokers for five years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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McGovren says Miles will never sell vehicle, trip, or location data, and the app has no ads: \u201cYou\u2019re the customer, you\u2019re not the product. Your data is not the product.\u201d He says, \u201cAll the vehicle and trip data is encrypted,\u201d adding that \u201cthe most sensitive data is end-to-end encrypted.\u201d Additionally, the location data is tied to the car, not the phone, so it stops tracking when you walk away. The app lets you download your data, stop location collection, and delete your account and all its data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Miles is very small and works with most gas and hybrid cars made in 2008 or later.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I set up Miles in my 2014 Toyota Highlander I nicknamed Tanya and have been using it for a couple of days. Setup was simple, and the app is clean, uncluttered, and easy to follow. It took me through a few setup screens, including asking to share my phone\u2019s location to relay data from the Plug over Bluetooth when cell service is spotty. I plugged it into my OBD-II port, and it read my VIN and correctly identified my car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It logs every trip with route, distance, time, and driver initials (I haven\u2019t had my daughter download the app yet; I\u2019m interested to see whose phones it connects to when we\u2019re both in the car). Arrived- and left-home alerts came through promptly, and the events tab flagged hard acceleration and a cluster of three hard-braking alerts when I was running a little late to collect my daughter from work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1\/4<\/strong>

This is a demo screen of a car in the Miles app. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I like the home card, which shows a vehicle health summary: engine OK, fuel 63%, battery 13.5V, and the odometer reading. I played with the Miles Mechanic chatbot and asked how my car is and what upcoming maintenance is due; it answered in plain English, telling me the cabin air filter is due at about 140,000 miles, and the oil change and tire rotation at 142,500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"<em>The<\/a><\/div>\n
\"<em>Miles<\/a><\/div>\n