Cars collect a lot of our personal data, and car companies disclose a lot of that data to third parties. It’s often unclear what’s being collected, and what's being shared and with whom. A recent New York Times article highlighted how data is shared by G.M. with insurance companies, sometimes...

Cars collect a lot of our personal data, and car companies disclose a lot of that data to third parties. It’s often unclear what’s being collected, and what’s being shared and with whom. A recent New York Times article highlighted how data is shared by G.M. with insurance companies, sometimes without clear knowledge from the driver. If you’re curious about what your car knows about you, you might be able to find out. In some cases, you may even be able to opt out of some of that sharing of data.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      4 months ago

      I’m ready for the US to restore proper protection for property rights now. It’s absolutely batshit insane that corporations are allowed to have this much control over products after they’re sold to begin with.

    • dinckel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      4 months ago

      We all know that’s not happening. While people with money have political power over the decisions of ones in office, they will always have the upper hand. That’s how we reached a point where a 2024 car had a paid subscription for the climate control

  • AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.worldEnglish
    29·
    4 months ago

    Looks like a lot of info is shared through the manufacturer’s app which interacts with the car. Easy to avoid if you don’t install the app.
    What we’re all here looking to avoid is the car itself uploading data. The article isn’t as clear about that, I guess since it depends so much on your exact model of vehicle.

  • Optional@lemmy.worldEnglish
    24·
    4 months ago

    Me: Oh please mister surveillance capitalism, oh please don’t track my personal data please.

    MrSC: heh heh heh. Sure, kid. You got it. thumbs up

      • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
        7·
        4 months ago

        I don’t know whether the maintenance process involves any download and transfer of data to the manufacturer, though I imagine that it could.

      • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
        3·
        4 months ago

        I don’t think most older vehicles have any internet connection, regardless of what safety equipment they have. Or am I wrong?

        • scoobford@lemmy.zipEnglish
          4·
          4 months ago

          Depends on how old, but OnStar has been around since before 2000.

          Early implementations may have been less creepy, but I’m not sure there’s any way to know.

          • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
            2·
            3 months ago

            Depends on the vehicle. Mine is mid-2010s but no internet connection to my knowledge—unless they’ve been paying for it in secret without telling me. Doesn’t seem especially likely.

            • scoobford@lemmy.zipEnglish
              2·
              3 months ago

              Mime is from 2016 and does. There’s no outward indication (the smartest thing exposed to the driver is Sirius XM), but the salesman told me it could be located in the event of theft, and it has microphones in it.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        4 months ago

        They know a lot less than you think they do…and none of it is person data. It’s all drivetrain and running diagnostic stuff. Very few cars in 2013 had apps for the vehicles…and pretty much none had them in 2003.

        • DeepChill@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          62·
          4 months ago

          Well, if you think connected apps are the only way cars invade your privacy…. That’s cute, good for you.

          Road speed, accelerator position, brake pedal position, number of seatbelts buckled or not, GPS position and heading, time since key on and probably at least a dozen other parameters I can’t think of off the top of my head are all being recorded. Those certainly are personal data that can and will be used against you in the event of a crash.

          • KnightontheSun@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            4 months ago

            Yes. Telemetry boxes. Most cars have had them for almost twenty years. The cell connection is more modern.

            Telemetric insurance is a thing now.

            • DeepChill@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              4·
              4 months ago

              Yeah, just ask any Tesla driver who also has Tesla insurance. I’d be screwed HARD as I go to work when it’s still dark out and according to Tesla that makes me a huge risk.

    • SecretSauces@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      3 months ago

      Same. Apparently my car is a “smart phone on wheels”, so they were getting pretty much everything.

  • scoobford@lemmy.zipEnglish
    8·
    4 months ago

    If I understand correctly, none of this is legally enforceable anyways.

    Fuck it, just rip the antennae out. The only wireless connection a car needs these days is Bluetooth, and there’s workarounds for that.

  • SpiceDealer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    53·
    3 months ago

    Best ways to circumvent this:

    1. Buy a pre-2000s car. Sure, cars were going high tech before but this was long before IoT became a thing.

    2. Ditch the car all together and get into to cycling and e-bike culture.