Private and business mode under GDPR: tracking, not spying
Geolocating a company vehicle touches the private life of the driver who takes it home in the evening. Properly equipped and properly framed, it is perfectly legal. Poorly framed, it exposes you. The difference comes down to a few simple principles.
Published 9 July 2026
What GDPR says, in substance
The positions of a vehicle driven by an identifiable person are personal data. Processing them requires a legitimate, documented purpose (fleet management, theft protection, proof of service), clear information for the drivers, and respect for the principle of proportionality: you collect no more than necessary. In practice: tracking business journeys, yes; tracking an employee's weekend, no.
Private and business mode, the technical answer
Our systems include a private mode the driver activates in one click, with three levels of masking depending on company policy. In private mode, journeys are not visible to the manager. Tax reports, meanwhile, come out in one click, with the private and business split already made.
An important safeguard completes the setup: masking is automatically deactivated in the event of towing, unit disconnection or an accident. Privacy protection never becomes an anti-theft weakness.
The good practices that make you compliant
- Document the purpose in your record of processing activities; we supply the technical elements to include in it.
- Inform drivers in writing: what is collected, why, who has access, how long it is kept.
- Activate private mode for any authorised personal use of the vehicle.
- Limit access: dispatch sees live positions, accounting sees the reports, nobody sees everything.
And what about eco-driving?
Measuring braking and acceleration is still driver-related data. The same logic applies: a clear purpose (safety, fuel), prior information, and constructive use. Presented as a tool for improvement, with the in-cab alert helping in the moment rather than a surveillance device that punishes after the fact, the setup is generally well accepted; some of our customers have even linked it to bonuses.
In short: compliance is not a brake on telematics, it is a way of deploying it. It comes down to the tooling (a serious private mode) and to transparency. We can help you with both.
A tracked fleet, respected drivers
Describe your organisation: we will configure private mode and access rights to match your internal policy.