Couple of months prior, I read an article on Mozilla, where they did a research on automakers and found none comply to good privacy measures. I am planning to buy a used car. I want to know how the data is collected and transmitted.

The car comes with a connected app though I am not planning to use it. It also has apple car play and android auto. Should I use those? The article states some manufacturers even records sexual activities. How are they transmitting these informations? Through connected phones?

My use is fairly basic, I want to use the Bluetooth audio system in the car for listening to music on my phone. I use maps on my phone.

What about car servicing? Can they access stored information?

21 points

We need an online guide, based on make and model, on how to disable the transmission of this data.

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2 points
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I would be happy, to make it simpler, to have a set of instructions for how to disable transmission of all data. Basically I just want to know which cable to unplug or cut so the car cannot access the internet

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15 points

Drive older cars and learn how to fix them!

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6 points

I prefer not burning fossil fuels

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5 points

So electric derived from coal is much better?

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8 points

#1 yes

#2 it can come from other, cleaner sources

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5 points

What a terrible take.

First off, unironically yes on account of higher efficiency in electric engines over combustion engines.

Second, what grids still run on 100% coal? And why would they keep doing that long-term, given that coal is just shit on its own merits?

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1 point

No, electric derived from solar or wind or hydro is best. The easiest way for homeowners to charge their cars is solar.

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0 points

Older EV?

For example I think the old leafs use the 3G data connection. Now that the 3G system has been retired no more data collecting!!

At least that is what I understand.

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0 points

Most parts of Europe still have 2G service, so 3G isn’t fully dissapearing for at least the next 20 years there.

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8 points

Not the exact (and only) solution, but some manufacturers may have a Do Not Sell My Information request form. Subaru has it on their website and I submitted a request for myself. Obviously we won’t know if they actually follow through, but it’s worth a shot. Some people have experimented with going in and actually disabling the antenna that the car uses for telemetry, but that’s at your own risk and likely voiding warranties in the process.

I think using carplay/android auto isn’t as bad since the infotainment system is just projecting your phone’s display, so your phone’s privacy policies apply. Whether you trust those policies is of course up to you. Cars that force their own systems (like GMC I think) are more risky because you are using it directly.

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3 points

Its better to disconnect the sensors than to trust policy

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5 points

Off topic. I saw a few comments about disabling or removing the modem on the car. How about removing where the telementry code resides in? Is that feasible?

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3 points

I think the only good way to go is to break the transmitter inside the car and hope it doesn’t brick it.

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2 points

You can probably cut a cable going to the transmitter than break the transmitter itself. Low voltage cables can be reconnected trivially.

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1 point

Maybe but my guess is a lot of that stuff is Integrated onto a single board.

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Privacy

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