General Motors offers up OnStar Guardian app to anyone who wants it

Even if you don't own a GM vehicle, you can still take advantage of OnStar’s numerous safety features

David Booth

Jun 07, 2021 • June 7, 2021 • 1 minute read • Join the conversation

With OnStar Guardian, members with active service plans and up to seven of their family members and friends can access critical OnStar safety services from their compatible phones. Photo by GM

General Motors is expanding its OnStar program to anyone and everyone, meaning that, even if you don’t own a GM vehicle, you can, in its words, “remain protected and connected from anywhere and in any vehicle.”

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The expansion is via its OnStar Guardian app, which allows customers to share critical OnStar safety and security services with up to seven of their loved ones.

Like the original OnStar program, the Guardian app provides mobile crash response, 24/7 roadside assistance, automatic location status, and an emergency button that connects the app user to an emergency-certified OnStar advisor. It also allows members to save and share favourite locations on the embedded map and receive notifications for when loved ones arrive at their destination. In other words, the Guardian app is the ultimate safety nanny.

Unlike the original OnStar system, which used the car’s sensors to determine when a crash had occurred, the Guardian app uses the smartphone’s own sensors to detect problems and decide when to alert the OnStar advisor. OnStar Guardian is currently available to OnStar members in Canada and the U.S.

For those without a GM vehicle, a standalone subscription plan is available to anyone, and the app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play. A Canadian subscription will cost $15 a month.