Motorists are being warned not to rely on connected car apps to help recover stolen vehicles, with experts saying many systems are designed for convenience rather than security. The warning follows the experience of technology analyst Ian Fogg, whose Kia was stolen from outside his home despite being linked to the manufacturer's Kia Connect app. Although the system was able to identify where the vehicle had been, it was unable to provide real-time tracking to help recover it. Fogg told the BBC: "This car was incredibly easy to hack but incredibly difficult to track. It shouldn't be this easy to nick a car when they cost an order of magnitude more than a phone and have similar radio technology." Fogg repeatedly requested updates on the vehicle's location after the theft but only received information 24 to 48 hours after the car had already moved. Its last recorded location was in Lithuania. Kia also told the BBC that Kia Connect is "a customer convenience feature, not a certified security vehicle tracker", adding that it "does not provide live-tracking functionality for stolen vehicles." The manufacturer said any location data must be released in compliance with UK data protection laws. Car safety organisation Thatcham Research said there is a "genuine and growing gap" between what drivers expect connected car technology to do and what it is actually capable of during a theft. The organisation advises motorists to invest in independently certified stolen vehicle tracking devices, which have their own power source, provide genuine real-time monitoring and are linked to professional monitoring centres. It said dedicated tracking products exist because most connected car apps "are not engineered to perform the security function that owners may assume it provides." Around 55,000 cars were stolen across the UK in 2025, although thefts fell by 11% compared