Mozilla Foundation did a deep dive into this. And the results where abysmal. The only brands not completely horrifying where Renault/Dacia because they are European and only serve the European market so they have to follow GDPR.
this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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Privacy
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Wait, Renault doesn't ship anything outside the EU?
It does, to India.
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The problem with the "just buy old cars" is that I want a used electric car for like $10k.
We need a wiki of EVs that.has a section on each model enumerating which components are used to spy on you and videos showing how to neuter them.
Yeah with EVs it seems like improving the privacy would be a pain, since they are reliant on parts of the digital system that is causing the privacy problem in the first place. I'm planning on sticking with a gen 3 Prius for awhile.
Are you sure the gen3 Prius doesn't have these sensors and privacy issues? I had a gen2 Prius and that thing had loads of sensors everywhere.
I ask because I'm seriously considering buying a gen3 Prius. Do you have any resources you can link me to where researches actually did an audit of this car to see what info it collected and what was uploaded to Toyota or the mechanics?
I don't really know much about that except for the fact that it does not have any form of a digital transponder that actively sends data it could be storing it though. Here is a site about vehicle privacy where I just looked up a random gen 3 Prius vin. (https://vehicleprivacyreport.com/report/?vin=%20JTDKN3DU1A000806#)
We need a wiki of EVs that.has a section on each model enumerating which components are used to spy on you and videos showing how to neuter them.
I have been thinking we need something like this but for all new vehicles, not just EVs. Like instructables but for how to locate and rip out the cellular radio/antenna on every make and model that has one.
Definitely. But its more complicated than that.
My understanding is that many cars store the information airgapped and then upload it to the dealer when the mechanic pluggs into the car doing routine service checks.
So we need the wireless/radio neutering, but also someone needs to hook up to the car and see if/what data can be leaked via hard wire. And possibly find ways to disable the sensors, send random/nonsense data, update the software to not store sensitve data, automatically wipe the data every time the car turns on, or at least document how to manually wipe the data when you pull into the shop for maintenance.
Oof, yeah, didn’t think about that. Much more complicated.
Exactly. Like I got a new android phone last week and I want to make it more.private. I want be afraid of making mistakes. Any mistake I can do can be undone.
Yeah fortunately there's tons of info on the internet on how to security harden phones. Its down to a science
Hardening cars is wild west right now.
Buy an electric bicycle and use the money you would have spent on a car to run for a seat for local office on the platform to improve local transit infrastructure
How good are they in ice and snow? Probably a bit dangerous and cold I'd think.
I did all my transportation and shopping with a mountain bike for a year and it's kind of difficult on snow and ice, fell over some. The trick is to never turn at all when on that stuff, but it's still hard. The cold makes the oil for the mechanisms work worse too, you need special oil. My hands got very cold holding on to the handlebars, you need to find some balance between gloves that hold warmth and resist the wind and gloves that let you have enough dexterity for the brakes and shifters.
I live in the nordics, while you can get chain lubes meant for extreme cold, negative twenties to thirties should be fine to ride using any lube.
Internal bearing lubrication is not a concern, same for shifters and brakes. Hydraulic breaks are not a concern, provided there is no moisture in the system.
Gloves are a must, of course, but I've several sets for a range temperatures, you can do just fine all the way up to pretty thick finger gloves. Some people here like to use three finger gloves to let some of their fingers buddy up.
Studded tires also make a huge difference. I can ride without them, but studs basically eliminate the most common way to fall without seeing it coming, your tires just sliding out from under you on smooth ice.
Though it doesn't help on loose snow thick enough the tire won't sink through to contact the ground. For that you need width and tons of tread.
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There are studded tires you can get for ice but I'm not certain about their application on electric bikes.
The problem with that though is they aren't legal everywhere. I know where I'm at we can't have studded tires.
Bicycles can't or vehicles can't? There's a vast difference in weight and I imagine most wouldn't even notice.
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Yes buy studded tires will help a lot
ITT people are all dismissive because you can't actually be anonymous on the road (license plates, speed cameras...), but, honestly, I just want a car that doesn't listen in on my conversations, sell my data to brokers, require any passanger to accept the privacy policy, or record the times I have sex (jk it won't be able to if I don't have any)
Depending on the car you might be able to physically disable telemetry. Here are some thoughts/ideas I've been collecting:
- Hit "SOS" button and opt-out of all services through customer service. This of course requires trusting the company to actually do it.
- It's possible that the info could be stored locally and then uploaded when it gets serviced though
- Remove the fuse to the modem/data communication module (DCM)
- Disconnect wiring to the LTE antennas
- A number of people have mentioned that they can get the dealer to disconnect the telemetry as a precondition to buying. For instance, here.
- Jump the data communication module (DCM) cable with a ~$70 dongle to bypass just the telematics components
- Disconnect the DCM cable, which will likely gimp the infotainment if not other systems, or remove the entire DCM unit
Quite a few cars also still have a SIM card hidden somewhere, which can be removed. The location of it varies widely though and they're usually pretty hard to find.
You need a line break between your paragraph and your list.
Depending on the car you might be able to physically disable telemetry. Here are some thoughts/ideas I've been collecting:
- Hit "SOS" button and opt-out of all services through customer service. This of course requires trusting the company to actually do it.
- It's possible that the info could be stored locally and then uploaded when it gets serviced though
- Remove the fuse to the modem/data communication module (DCM)
- Disconnect wiring to the LTE antennas
- A number of people have mentioned that they can get the dealer to disconnect the telemetry as a precondition to buying. For instance, here.
- Jump the data communication module (DCM) cable with a ~$70 dongle to bypass just the telematics components
- Disconnect the DCM cable, which will likely gimp the infotainment if not other systems, or remove the entire DCM unit
Oh, it looked Ok in my app (Voyager). But I added the line break.
I’ve got a 2009 dumb car and I am babying it because I dread having to try to buy a new to me car that isn’t full of telemetrics and other modern car garbage.
Learn how to work on it
I already do. I’m no mechanic, but I’ve made numerous repairs over the years and am familiar with and can do basic car maintenance.
Do you do any rust proofing? Keeping the rust away is key if you want to keep it for a long time. My car is ten years old and practically rust free, been applying Fluid Film every other year.
As long as data harvesting is legal and profitable, privacy will be a cat and mouse game. Gotta wonder how much capital and human effort is invested into all these anti-consumer innovations.
I don't have any tips, but I wish I did. My car's just over a year old and I don't even like driving it since I found out it's spying on me all the time. The 'infotainment' system is also integrated with everything in the vehicle so turning it off isn't an option. I really like the car, but I feel like privacy is something that shouldn't have to be a consideration when buying a vehicle. I'm just about positive there's not a new vehicle available in the US market without one of these things in it unless you're buying fleet vehicles.
Sell it and get a old pickup truck. Those things go forever
I plan to buy 2003 Skoda Octavia for obvious reasons or some car with automatic transmission.
My cousin still drives her 2003 Octavia and it's still in great shape. Diesel, manual and four wheel drive. Amazing car!
Are there any write-ups on the situation in Europe under GDPR-legislation? Mostly I read about the US-situation which seems like the wild west, but I can't imagine that it is perfectly fine in the EU either even if you opt-out of using their apps etc.
Definitely keeping me far away from upgrading, newest vehicle is an early 2000s Corolla and still does 40mpg.
Honestly with how cheap and easy it is to fix at home, barring safety improvements I really don't see a point in upgrading. Infotainment is just another component that will eventually go obsolete like the ones from ~2010 that are dog slow and a pain to go aftermarket on.
Yeah, this is something always in the back of my mind. There's no way I could replace the one in my car without serious modification. There's a bunch of shit integrated into it (heat/air controls, safety feature toggles, etc.) and it takes up the entire center of the dashboard.
Another awful "innovation". The screen in my 2016 van just does maps, music, and radio. I can swap it out no issue if I want (but I don't want android auto so I don't). The climate controls are still physical knobs thank god.
Should be quite easy to remove any WiFi/cellular/satellite antennas from the car's computer. (Might be trace/chip antennas, so make sure to get those). If you're extra paranoid, get the GPS antenna too, so it can't simply record data indefinitely.
Might take a few hours to go through the car to make sure you get everything, but you won't be limited to super old cars.
Also ford recently redesigned their app so the users have to use built in google maps in order to track their car.
Holding onto my 2016 van with zero telemetry for as long as possible.
DIY ?
Now just hope the batteries don't have a radio.
Cars are fascist, don't drive one
I was driving in a rented car and just decided to start randomly singing and... yeah, the car's AI asked me to repeat.
Cars have had GPS capable black boxes for a long time. They claim it is for the same reason as airplane black boxes, but I call bullshit on that.
Would be interesting if people demand their car modems disconnected enmasse contractually before they bought newer cars. Then have an independent mechanic confirm its disconnected or dealer pays out the arse. Make em think twice about this crap
Old and serviceable. Don't give me plastic
I did not watch the mentioned video so I am not sure if what I am about to mention is discussed there or not. Also, sorry for the really long reply!
I am not aware of any available truly privacy respecting, modern cars. However, assuming theat you obtain one or you can do things like physically disconnect/remove all wireless connectivity from the car to make it as private/secure as possible, there still is little you can do to be truly anonymous.
Your car likely has a VIN and license plate as well as a vehicle registration. Assuming you legally obtained the vehicle and did not take any preventative measures prior to purchasing the car, those pieces of information will be tied back to you and your home address (or at least someone closely connected to you). You would need to initially obtain the vehicle via a compsy/LLC/partnership/etc. as the owner/renter/leasee of the vehicle and an address not associated to you. Additionally, you would need to find some means of avoiding or limiting the additional information connected to you that is likely required to obtain the vehicle like car insurance and your drivers license.
Additionally, any work that certain mechanics perform may be shared (either directly or indirectly) with data brokers - even just routine maintenance like an oil change or alignment. Hopefully you didn't use your credit card, loyalty rewards program, etc. when you had any work done!
There is also CCTV, security cameras, and other video recorders that are nearly impossible to avoid. Given enough time/resources and maybe a little bit of information, your car could be tracked from its origin to destination locations. This location history can be used to identify you as the owner (or at least driver/passenger) of the car. Unless your car never leaves your garage, you can almost guarantee that your car is on some Ring camera, street camera, etc.
Furthermore, anything special or different about your car (custom decal, unusual window tinting, funny bumper sticker, uncommon color for the car, uncommon trim/package for the car, dented bumper, fancy rims, replaced tires, specific location of toll reader placement on the windshield, something hanging from your rear mirror, etc.) all help identify your car. The make/model and year of your car can also be used to identify your car if its not a common car in the area. These identifiers can be used to help track your car via the video feeds mentioned above.
Then there are license plate readers which are only slightly easier to avoid than the video recordings. Permanent, stationary license plate readers can be found on various public roads and parking lots. There are also people who drive around with license plate readers as part of their job for insurance/repossession purposes. You may be able to use some sort of cover over your license plate(s) to hinder the ability of license plate readers to capture your plate number, but that could be used to help identify your car in video feeds/recordings.
Take a look at motorcycles. They tend to be far behind the curve technology wise, and only Zerocycles have a telemetry system afaik.
Also ford recently redesigned their app so the users have to use built in google maps in order to track their car.
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