Why Automakers Are Invading Your Privacy

I started a thread similar to this a couple of months ago, I think I linked an article about how car companies are selling basically everything they find out about you from your car. And how when you get into your new ride and tap the "I agree" button on the infotainment system you are agreeing to let them do it. If you don't agree, you basically can't drive your new car, they're not really giving you an option.

This video goes into more detail, the funny thing in it was the reminder to wipe your data from your car before selling or trading it in. This is funny because when I bought my last car, a wagon from GM Holden, it was the first car I'd bought that had sat nav built into the infotainment system, and it still had the previous owners home and work address in it. So neither the previous owner or the dealer bothered to wipe it.

The FJ doesn't have a smart infotainment system, in fact I changed the head unit to a Kenwood system, which was connected originally with Android Auto, but the last firmware update basically killed all that connectivity, it still does all the BT stuff, but that's only calls and sounds.

I do have my Google timeline turned on, through the phone, but even that's not the best at tracking me, quite often it asks me to review places I haven't been to, I may have walked past at some point, but that's it. I don't care if they track me, if I'm planning on doing anything dubious, I just won't take my phone with me. Interestingly, that's how they are cracking some of these cases, if your phone is connected to a cell tower where some serious crime was committed, you are a suspect till they rule you out.

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If it's a smart device, it has the ability to track or monitor you to a certain degree. Everything is moving to online which means more potential loss of privacy due to hackers or who knows who that has access to that data.
 
Big Dave said:
I started a thread similar to this a couple of months ago, I think I linked an article about how car companies are selling basically everything they find out about you from your car. And how when you get into your new ride and tap the "I agree" button on the infotainment system you are agreeing to let them do it. If you don't agree, you basically can't drive your new car, they're not really giving you an option.

This video goes into more detail, the funny thing in it was the reminder to wipe your data from your car before selling or trading it in. This is funny because when I bought my last car, a wagon from GM Holden, it was the first car I'd bought that had sat nav built into the infotainment system, and it still had the previous owners home and work address in it. So neither the previous owner or the dealer bothered to wipe it.

The FJ doesn't have a smart infotainment system, in fact I changed the head unit to a Kenwood system, which was connected originally with Android Auto, but the last firmware update basically killed all that connectivity, it still does all the BT stuff, but that's only calls and sounds.

I do have my Google timeline turned on, through the phone, but even that's not the best at tracking me, quite often it asks me to review places I haven't been to, I may have walked past at some point, but that's it. I don't care if they track me, if I'm planning on doing anything dubious, I just won't take my phone with me. Interestingly, that's how they are cracking some of these cases, if your phone is connected to a cell tower where some serious crime was committed, you are a suspect till they rule you out.

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The Lexus the dealer gave me as a loaner a while back must have had 10-12 peoples names/numbers/etc in the setup screen

I couldn't believe people would number 1, take the time to put all their info in to a loaner car system, because God forbid they not be connected to social media for a day, and number 2, NOT take the time to scrub that info out when they returned the loaner

I have seen that in rental cars as well

And they probably stand around and go "honey, I don't understand how we got hacked"
 
1 Good reason of many why i wont buy a new vehicle. I am starting to prefer older more simple tech.

I turn off anything and everything i can on my androiid. Havent used gooogle search in long time. 0 social media. I dont get targeted with ads. Next phone will most likely be a UNPLUGGED device since they recently came out. Atleast i can have a micro sd card again.

Im not doing anything nefarious but we all have a right to privacy. Not to be tracked or targeted, or listened to. You comfortable with the fact that your listened too while having private pillow talk with your wife? Way way to many folks dont care or realize it. A, i will eventually know more about you that you will.

I realize not much i can do currently about getting pinged off nearest towers. 5 g is very harmful to our bodies. And most keep it on them all the time.

Sorry...rant over lol

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VISITOR said:
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I watched the video, then read the comments, it seems any vehicle bought with dealer finance could have one of these fitted, and in some cases they even get the customer to pay for it, selling it to them like an extra option, like rust protection or ceramic coating. I'll bet they are probably doing it here as well.

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Mazda just started sending out emails to let people know that their 3-year free trials of using the app is up and it'll be $10/mo. For me, one of the features, remote start, was never included since I have a manual. So that's a much tougher sell. I don't need an app to lock/unlock my car, check fuel level, tire pressure, etc. for a monthly fee. Once my free trial is up, i'll be calling them to deactivate the telematics control unit.
 
MisterSnoop said:
Mazda just started sending out emails to let people know that their 3-year free trials of using the app is up and it'll be $10/mo. For me, one of the features, remote start, was never included since I have a manual. So that's a much tougher sell. I don't need an app to lock/unlock my car, check fuel level, tire pressure, etc. for a monthly fee. Once my free trial is up, i'll be calling them to deactivate the telematics control unit.
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Was nicer when you could just do all that from a key fob.


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Most any company that collects data uses it to make money.
 
Big Dave said:
I just listened to this podcast on the subject, this is the link to the transcript, but it shows that everyone is watching us, and selling our data, in one form or another.

How Your Driving Is Being Tracked



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Been doing it for years, what do you think our cell phones are. You can minimize the collection of your data but you are not going to stop it completly.

I was told that our state transportation (penndot) doesnt even use the vehicle counters in the pavement at lights that much anymore. The use cell towers. Guessing its only accurate for the vehicles that can be tracked. I dont see them using cell phones that ping off the towers to collect the traffic data because if there are more than on occupant in a vehicle then it would be flawed data. Idk though.

Been looking into the "unplugged" cell phones. Supposed to not collect/sell data, still can obviously track your rough location when the phone pings a cell tower.

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opie said:
Been doing it for years, what do you think our cell phones are. You can minimize the collection of your data but you are not going to stop it completly.

I was told that our state transportation (penndot) doesnt even use the vehicle counters in the pavement at lights that much anymore. The use cell towers. Guessing its only accurate for the vehicles that can be tracked. I dont see them using cell phones that ping off the towers to collect the traffic data because if there are more than on occupant in a vehicle then it would be flawed data. Idk though.

Been looking into the "unplugged" cell phones. Supposed to not collect/sell data, still can obviously track your rough location when the phone pings a cell tower.

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Yeah I know, but I'm one of the crazy fools who actually leaves his Google timeline turned on, I like being able to look back years and see what I did on a particular date. I do check the apps I'm looking at downloading to see what permissions they require, and if they want more than they actually require for their purpose, it's a big nope.

We don't seem to have the problem of insurance companies buying info on you so they can raise your premiums. They base it on what you're driving, and what your driving history is, accidents, tickets, and disqualifications you may have had. Of course if you lie to them, they may not pay out. Although they aren't complete bastards about it, I had to put in a claim about 6 years ago, and I forgot to tell them my Mum, who is listed on my policy as a driver, had been in an accident in her car a year before. They said my premium should have been $60 more, so I paid the extra, and they covered the accident. They could have used that as an excuse to not pay out.

Police love to use cell phone data, there's been a couple of high profile cases here where they identified suspects by looking at every phone that pinged off certain remote cell towers, then investigated and arrested a murderer in one case, and recovered safely a kidnapped child in another. But being smart and turning your phone off, or leaving it at home, doesn't always work either, altering your usage patterns is also a giveaway that you're up to something.

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Big Dave said:
Yeah I know, but I'm one of the crazy fools who actually leaves his Google timeline turned on, I like being able to look back years and see what I did on a particular date. I do check the apps I'm looking at downloading to see what permissions they require, and if they want more than they actually require for their purpose, it's a big nope.

We don't seem to have the problem of insurance companies buying info on you so they can raise your premiums. They base it on what you're driving, and what your driving history is, accidents, tickets, and disqualifications you may have had. Of course if you lie to them, they may not pay out. Although they aren't complete bastards about it, I had to put in a claim about 6 years ago, and I forgot to tell them my Mum, who is listed on my policy as a driver, had been in an accident in her car a year before. They said my premium should have been $60 more, so I paid the extra, and they covered the accident. They could have used that as an excuse to not pay out.

Police love to use cell phone data, there's been a couple of high profile cases here where they identified suspects by looking at every phone that pinged off certain remote cell towers, then investigated and arrested a murderer in one case, and recovered safely a kidnapped child in another. But being smart and turning your phone off, or leaving it at home, doesn't always work either, altering your usage patterns is also a giveaway that you're up to something.

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Can be used for good, but mostly for evil unfortunatly.

And unless you can pop your battery out of your phone, its always on even when your turn it off.

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Try to leave the old phone at home more. We are all programed to have to have them with us, feel lost or the feeling like forgot wallet. We somehow made it 2000 years without cell phones as part of our outfits leaving the home. And they are handy. But now even kids have cell phones. I joke about all the business owners in the schools... it used to be only business owners had cells, lol. Not anymore.
I try and leave it at home more if just running an errand and such, it's hard, but trying to lose the security blanket of it, cause it's false.
It does feels nice to detach from it, get some feeling of independance back, hahaha.
 
Silly Rabbit said:
Try to leave the old phone at home more. We are all programed to have to have them with us, feel lost or the feeling like forgot wallet. We somehow made it 2000 years without cell phones as part of our outfits leaving the home. And they are handy. But now even kids have cell phones. I joke about all the business owners in the schools... it used to be only business owners had cells, lol. Not anymore.
I try and leave it at home more if just running an errand and such, it's hard, but trying to lose the security blanket of it, cause it's false.
It does feels nice to detach from it, get some feeling of independance back, hahaha.
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Lol it does make ya feel free.

I do leave it at home certain imstances. At work i try to leave it in my dinner bucket. Im not that old, but these young hands cant leave it alone. It destracts from the task at hand. Ive lost my temper more than once on them about it.

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opie said:
Lol it does make ya feel free.

I do leave it at home certain imstances. At work i try to leave it in my dinner bucket. Im not that old, but these young hands cant leave it alone. It destracts from the task at hand. Ive lost my temper more than once on them about it.

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Phone zombies, they have their faces in them at all times, it's nuts. The amount of people you see walking down the street face in the screen, walking towards an intersection red light... lol, you say "this lunatic is gonna get killed". It's crazy, they barely see or hear anything around them.
Looking back, I just don't know how the crews got all the highways and Empire State building built back then.... I suppose there weren't as many cell carriers I guess.......
 
I just read this article about 2 GR Corollas that caught fire. The interesting part was that Toyota refused one of the warranty claims on the basis that it had received data packets from the car saying it had been driven at 114mph, which they regard as vehicle abuse. In the second car it was too damaged to get any recent data from so they just denied the claim, but they had sent him a request to stop and check the engine as they had received a check engine light warning from it. The first one was mostly covered by insurance, the second was in a gap in his insurance, is that a thing, so had no coverage. Interestingly both vehicles may have had holes in their engine blocks.


Two GR Corollas Burned Down. Toyota Won’t Honor the Warranties

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My insurance company has an app and if you opt into the program they track phone use, harsh braking, and overall amount and types of drives and you can earn up to a 30% discount

I figure SOMEONE is tracking me in the Lexus cars for some reason anyway so I might as well save some $$$

Probably pretty naive but $ saved is $ earned
 
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