You shouldn’t lose sleep over the prospect of data theft from Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The most that someone could potentially get is an identification code from your device, but that’s virtually useless without the device itself.

It turns out you’re more likely to leave more data through a far older technology: Bluetooth. Pair your phone and most connections ask to download the phonebook to enable easy access to stored numbers. A lot of that can stay in the car.
“For every paired Bluetooth phone, the car stores the phone ID and pairing information, “The phonebook data and calling lists are transferred to the car. When you disconnect the phone, the call information is removed from the car’s memory and updated on a following reconnect. The phonebook data persists in the car in order to be available immediately after a next reconnect.” the amount of information your car’s Bluetooth system collects “varies by Bluetooth module but typically there is storage for hundreds if not thousands of phone numbers.”
There’s also “a limited amount of space for speed dials and call logs — though some systems record no logs,” The transfer of this data is between the phone’s memory and the SIM card to the embedded flash memory on the communications module, and what type of data that is transferred depends on the Bluetooth profile supported by the phone.” So-called “smart” Bluetooth can now handle additional data, “including keystroke data, wireless sensor reporting and the ability to transmit short data packets like messages, emails, calendar notifications, tasks, notes and reminders,Although unlikely, “these in theory could be stored by the module depending on its design, And all of that information could be hacked.

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Originally posted by hrcjon:

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That is not CarPlay; that is simply Bluetooth phone calls.

I am not sure what are you talking about. It uploads the phone contacts and displays them allowing outbound verbal dialing by name, it allows you to use the contacts to dial via the touch screen, it shows the names on incoming and reads messages, it shows recent calls, etc. etc. all within the same UI as carplay.
Why would you think its not using carplay? I have older vehicles with simple bluetooth to the speaker and mic, that is not this. Your not correct.

My car does this as well, but it is not CarPlay; simply phone and messaging capabilities over the automobile Bluetooth. With CarPlay the screen will look like your phone display with the apps and colors, etc.

For clarity, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are interfaces to control your phone using the screen on your car. For example, I can access playlists from YouTube Music and navigate using Google Maps. CarPlay and Android Auto connect the car to the phone using either a cable or data over Bluetooth.

This is, of course, a little confusing because cars still can connect to phones using an older Bluetooth Audio and Bluetooth Calling feature.

Bluetooth Audio sends the audio signal to your car, and allows basic audio controls like skip, play, and pause. This is the same as when you connect your phone to a set of wireless earphones or wireless speakers.

Bluetooth Calling is similar to the above, but transfers your phone book and recent call history so that you can use the car's processor to initiate phone calls. When you push the little handset button on your steering wheel and a robotic voice prompts you by saying, "Say a command..." That is not your phone doing the work. That's the car's processor using basic voice commands to initiate a call using it's downloaded phone book as a lookup. This is a holdover from when Bluetooth headsets were popular, and people wanted to make and answer calls using voice commands but Siri and Google Assistant hadn't been invented yet.

If you have a car equipped with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you have 5 or 6 ways to initiate a call:

1) car initiates the call using car's onboard voice recognition and downloaded phone book using bluetooth;

2) car initiates call using *the car's* on screen prompts and downloaded phone book using bluetooth;

3) phone initiates call using phone screen, audio is sent to car via bluetooth;

4) phone initiates call using voice recognition like Siri or Google Assistant, audio over bluetooth;

5) phone initiates call using the car's screen but with CarPlay or Android Auto's on screen prompts, connection wired or wirelessly via Bluetooth;

6) phone initiates call using Siri or Google Assistant voice recognition built into CarPlay or Android Auto, results displayed onscreen within the CarPlay/Android Auto UI.