cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1432229/your-car-is-a-smartphone-on-wheels-a-team-of-researchers-tested-21-vehicles-and-found-th
Data sent by vehicles and companion apps included locations, VINs, and other identifiers. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft were among the top receivers of driver data.
And if I were to use a screwdriver to pop a component off of the motherboard, which website would tell me the component to target for my make/model?
Disconnect the antennas. Its easier and reversible
No it’s not. You don’t know what my car is and is not.
I hate this style of titles. I’m a gearhead and own 5 vehicles and a motorcycle. None of them are a smartphone on wheels, the newest one is newly 20 years old.
I just need to get from point a to point b. I don’t need some goddamn home entertainment system connected to everything else.
I also don’t want it, which is arguably the more important point as the customer
Most want it.
I’m driving my crv until the wheels fall off and then I’m gluing them back on
Similar findings as:
and https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/12/cars-and-drivers-2024-year-review
Petition: https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/campaigns/car-companies/
2006 car with manual transmission. There’s exactly enough computer in it to run the ignition and oil change timer.
Just get yourself a '97 4Runner, there are no trackers in a '97 4Runner.
I have a 2001 car and a 2024 Grom motorcycle. Absolutely no telemetry or such. I’m keeping them for as long as possible.
I have a 2008 car, it doesn’t even chime when I don’t put my seatbelt on.
After driving a 2024 Subaru, I realize that I am a very fortunate person, and I live a life of silence and peaceful reflection.
2010 models at the latest, I am only going to own old vehicles until this beeping madness ends.
How long until new models show advertisements on the dash related to your conversations? Three years, tops.
I have a 2011 Silverado 4wd that I lucked into real cheap right before covid. I ripped the OnStar out of it and I hope it never dies 'cause I won’t ever be able to afford anything like it again.
Inb4 the anti truck bitchfest. I live in the sticks, and use it the way a truck needs to be used.
Would REALLY love to de-surveillance my vehicle if anybody has any tips (please quietly make the “buy an old car instead” jokes to yourself)
Many cars have the modem / LTE as a module that can be disabled. On my car, a 2018 Chevy, the LTE antenna plugs into a networking module in the footwell. I bought an antenna cable and dummy load resistor on Amazon for ~$10 and simply unplugged the LTE antenna in the car and plugged in the dummy antenna. That disables all cell network connectivity but doesn’t effect things like Bluetooth. It’s also easily reversible if someone wanted to do that for some reason.
You can probably Google something like “year make model disable LTE” or “disable telemetry” to get an idea of how hard it would be on your car. Some make it very cheap / easy and some make it very difficult.
In many cars, the modem that phones home with your data may be a separate unit. Depending on your make and model, you can sometimes buy cable adapters that will connect power to everything except that subsystem. The term to search for is a “DCM bypass plug”.
Buy an old car
(please quietly make the “buy an old car instead” jokes to yourself)
That’s not a joke, it’s sincere advice. My newest car is a 2008 (I think) model. I’d love to have an EV, but I don’t because I haven’t figured out how to have one that isn’t infected by “telemetry” and other enshittification. I have hopes for the Slate Truck, but it doesn’t actually exist yet, so I wait.
(Also, yes, as a mod of the place I’d be remiss if I didn’t second the other reply and suggest adopting a non-car-dependent lifestyle to begin with.)
Find and disconnect the telemetry antenna. If the telemetry is in a discrete unit delete that too.
Don’t do anything irreversible in case the manufacturer has booby trapped the car to go in to limp mode without the portable flock setup.
Okay, but how do they fill the giant hole in the middle of the dash now?
(/srs can just cut off all antennas but this will make the computer waste battery trying to connect so the car may not start after a while if it’s combustion engine)
That’s the interface to you not the one to the cell, in case anyone doesn’t know.
I hope the study specifically publishes the data on the Model 3. I bought one before I became much more privacy conscious, but I’ve done my best to mitigate the leakage from that. In doing so, I read through all of Tesla’s terms and conditions upon opt out and sending any of my information or information that can be used to identify or profile me, should never be sold to advertisers. I write software licenses for a living so I’m pretty confident in my reading on this. It would be interesting to see what can currently be mitigated by changing some settings and what cannot.
Interesting to see Subaru at the very bottom - barely anything, but Toyota is the opposite, sucking up big data like they’re General Motors
Edit: can confirm my car isn’t doing anything - when I upgraded my head unit, I discovered unconnected wires where a telemetry module would be
Doubly interesting because the Subaru Solterra is a Toyota. But I guess Subaru has their own infotainment in it? I haven’t really test driven one.
While I have a 2024 Honda Civic, it doesn’t have a cell connection (though it does have a form of GPS). I’m fine with that, but I’m surprised that it didn’t even have that option.
You can disconnect that cell connection. I have a 2018 Accord and there is a module in the trunk that has a plug you just pull it out.
The more you know. 🌠
Sportier cars seem to somewhat have escaped that trend. Subaru BRZs have had pretty much the same interior for a while. First gen 2013-2020 had no built in internet. The second gen looks similar, although I’m not sure if it still is as basic.
Would rather drive a rust bucket. I do drive a rust bucket. I’m not affraid of scratching it. I don’t feel I have to always keep it pristine clean. I’m not affraid of working on it myself. I’m not being
chargedrobbed subscriptions for equipment already installed. I’m not wondering wether I’m being tracked by sick fucking creeps.
