General Motors has accelerated the rollout of a suite of surveillance features through over-the-air updates that rely on external vehicle cameras and one new camera already inside customer cars.
The Detroit automaker confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Aug. 27 that Cabin Glance, Security Recording and Surround Vision Recorder started appearing in select vehicles late last year and are now available across brands.
The latest vehicle to get the feature is the 2027 Chevrolet Traverse, within its new High Country and RD trim levels, which comes equipped with an interior camera in the overhead console that’s trained on the backseats.
One feature, Cabin Glance, does not record video, but the other two do: Surround Vision Recorder, lets customers “capture,
watch and save videos” while the vehicle is on, while Security Recording within Surround Vision Recorder is triggered automatically when the vehicle’s alarm goes off.
Catherine Scales, a spokeswoman for Chevrolet, noted that customers must provide their own compatible USB drive to record and save video.
The robust aftermarket for camera equipment on vehicles is partly why the automaker decided to move ahead with the additional features, according to Angelica Wilson, group product manager for camera features at General Motors. The other reason was direct customer feedback.
“We have data and feedback for years now that safety and security are two things that customers want across the board,” Wilson said. “There’s other companies doing similar things. It’s becoming a part of where the industry is going.”
Jennifer Dukarski, a lawyer with the Butzel law firm in Ann Arbor who specializes in intellectual property, media and technology, said the feature is a potentially “excellent” use of the technology, with many safety and opportunity reasons why consumers may want to access in-vehicle footage.
But because the new features were added remotely, with over-the-air updates triggering hardware that customers may not have known were in the vehicle, it can be frightening for consumers.
“People are very concerned about where they’re being filmed and how they’re being filmed,” Dukarski said. “Take for example, the Flock cameras and the concerns that are widespread today. Letting people know that this technology exists risks turning a deaf ear to people’s privacy concerns.”
Flock Safety, the technology company that produces the widespread license plate readers, has been lately in the news for several high-profile allegations of misuse from law enforcement.
When the red light is on
Though these features have steadily gone live across all four GM brands, that doesn’t mean GM is playing back footage recorded from inside customer cars.
According to the company, internal vehicle recordings are stored locally on the USB drive and are accessible only through that drive; GM does not collect or have access to the recordings. Additionally, across the three features, the system does not record audio.
A large red recording-dot indicator appears on the infotainment display while Surround Vision Recorder is actively recording, the company noted. The system runs continuously for 2-hours. Once that time period has passed, Wilson said the system starts to record over the existing footage.
How to access recordings:
- The vehicle must be in park. Customers can press the "Recordings" icon on the vehicle’s center display.
- In the Recordings feature, drivers can play videos, pause, skip forward or backwards in a recording.
- Recent videos will be available to access in a list, alongside different camera views.
- There’s a an option in the menu to “safely eject” the USB drive.
Security Recording when car is off
Another feature that GM said can only be used if the customer consents to it is Security Recording, which begins recording automatically from five cameras ― four outside the vehicle, one inside ― once the vehicle's alarm is triggered “on some vehicles.”
The recording lasts for 30-seconds. To save that footage, too, a USB drive needs to already be inserted in the vehicle.
The main use case is when the vehicle is off and likely unattended. When Security Recording is on, a large banner comes across the center screen allows any would-be carjackers to know they’re on camera.
Customers can turn Security Recording off in the settings submenu of the recordings app, according to a company website.
Cabin Glance, meanwhile, offers a live view of the second and third rows on the center screen. To use it, customers have to select it from their vehicle’s Camera app. Unlike Surround Vision Recorder, it does not record or store any footage.
Though the feature has not been available for long, Wilson noted she hears plenty of positive feedback from colleagues about how much easier it is to check on family members in back rows without having to turn their heads while driving.
“We wanted to add flexibility to monitor the back seat without turning away from the road, which is dangerous,” Wilson said. “Our customers have been asking for this. There’s an aftermarket industry catering to this.”
What models currently have recording features
Buick
- 2027 Enclave
Cadillac
- 2025 and 2026 Escalade IQ
- 2026 Celestiq
- 2025, 2026 and 2027 Optiq
- 2026 and 2027 Lyriq
- 2026 and 2027 Vistiq
Chevrolet
- 2025 and 2026 Tahoe/Suburban
GMC
- 2025 and 2026 Yukon
Cabin Glance has also launched on the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban and Chevrolet Bolt, according to the company.
By the end of the year, GM said the new camera features will begin rolling out to the 2027 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and additional 2027 models across Cadillac, Chevy and GMC.
Automakers and data consent
Meanwhile, GM has had a blemished track record when handling customer data. GM agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in January 2025 over allegations that it extracted data from millions of its customer’s vehicles “without adequately notifying consumers and obtaining their affirmative consent.”
In the initial complaint, federal regulators alleged GM’s enrollment process for OnStar’s connected vehicle service and OnStar Smart Driver features was misleading; customers were not aware their data was being sold to third parties.
While additional cameras in the vehicle are a natural evolution of functions like advanced driver assistance systems, putting one on passengers in particular poses a unique challenge when it comes to getting permission. For example, different states maintain contradictory privacy laws when it comes to recording consent, Dukarski noted.
In a disclaimer on the feature’s website, Cadillac noted consumers should always use Surround Vision Recorder in accordance with local video recording laws.
“Are you going to obtain consent from everybody who sits in the backseat to be filmed?” Dukarski said. “Filming without consent could create risks with several state laws and brings into question what is privacy in a vehicle today.”
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: With over-the-air update, GM launches camera recording to new vehicles
