Or at least I hope there is. I can’t stand the fact that vehicles today can collect all sorts of data about you and manufacturers can sell that data. Is there any way to physically stop a vehicle from recording time, place, speed, what gear I’m in, what brand of cola is in my cup holder? As far as I’m concerned this practice should be illegal. It should be illegal to purchase data like this too. Is there any way to disable it, fry it, make it think I’m driving in Australia?
I read a thread about this recently, over on a Toyota-related forum.
One fella is all-in on the process, disassembling a good part of his vehicle to get at the "black box," detailing what other functions he lost when disabling it, and the gyrations he went through to get them back. It was a long read, and super detailed. (Pretty darned interesting!)
The nanny/spy stuff is buried deep, that's for sure.
God bless America.
Posts: 14080 | Location: Frog Level Yacht Club | Registered: July 15, 2007
If your concern is tracking, it is a relatively simple task in most vehicles to find the gps antenna and unplug it. Of course this is vehicle dependent, and you may disable your Nav system at the same time if you have one. Should not affect Apple CarPlay or AndroidAuto.
As to speed, gear, etc., you probably cannot stop that without killing the ECU, and then your vehicle won’t work. There may be a way to go into programming and turn off data recording, but that requires a level of expertise and a good engine diagnostic tool/code reader. And anything you turn off may be turned back on the next time it is serviced or if there is an over the air update to software.
These links refer to “aftermarket” tracking devices used by some car dealers and/or finance companies to aid in repossessions. I think the OP is talking about what comes with the car. EDIT: last link refers to OnStar etc.
Funny story: At my stereo shop we sometimes install these units for some used car dealers. One of my employees was talking to an employee of another shop in town and that subject came up. The other guy says “y’all been putting those on? I was wondering who was putting those on. People have been paying us to take them off!”
It is quite easy. Find the cellular modem in the car and disconnect the antenna. This will also disable any connected services however. I have a Chevy and there is an "opt out" toggle for data collection but I don't know that I actually believe it is truly disabled.
That said, if you have a smartphone and especially if you use it for navigation, they already got you anyway. I forget where I heard it but it sums up all the online stuff perfectly-
If you are getting a service for free, you aren't the consumer, you're the product.
Posts: 2227 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: February 25, 2007
The data apparently is sent via cellular (according to the internet). Which means there may be a physical a sim card, and there will be an antenna. Disconnecting it would stop the flow of data. Everything is so compact and integrated that I can't imagine it could be easily found or safely disconnected.
I really object to the manufacturer collecting the data and selling it. The location data is only the tip of the iceberg. What radio program I listen to, how fast or slow I drive, if I use turn signals, how many seats are occupied and when, etc.
Not only is this private information that nobody has a right to know, the opportunity for misuse is unlimited. Either by corporations or government.
Idk if there might be warranty issues on new vehicles, or create problems for servicing the vehicle if one were able to disable it.
The car maker's app on one's phone is another source of data for them. I do not use their app for that reason even though it provides lots of functionality.
Posts: 9814 | Location: On the mountain off the grid | Registered: February 25, 2002
Okay, I understand that disabling the antenna would stop the real time flow of data. Disconnecting it would be best if you need to enable it for some reason in the future. What about if you take the car in for service? Is there any way to clear all the data that has been stored in the computer? Sorry I’m pretty computer illiterate. I understand that all of this info can be collected from my phone. No I won’t connect my phone to my car. I’ve seen videos that have said they can tell if you’ve gained or lost weight. Cameras can reveal if you’re distracted, stressed etc. I ultimately would just like to be able to stop these pricks from collecting everything they can about me and selling it. It disgusts me. The problem with most of the videos I’ve seen is that they don’t dig too far into what you can do to stop them, mostly just letting you know what your car is capable of. I’m honestly shocked that there isn’t a giant industry that creates devices to shut all this crap down.
Originally posted by bendable: Would be much simpler to buy old
Agreed.
I've become less and less interested in anything built after 2002. I feel like the vehicles built around 2000-2002 were probably the best that there were. Just enough tech to make it great, but not too much to make it overly complex.
Proverbs 28:1
Posts: 4257 | Location: Contra Costa County, CA | Registered: May 28, 2004
Obviously, the question of "who owns your data?" is much bigger than just your car & driving habits. Insurance companies justify the latter by saying they need it to offer "discounts" for "safe drivers" (when they have no proof or studies that show that, for example, drivers that never exceed speed limits file fewer costly claims than those who do). Once collected and correlated with car make and model, driver age, etc. the data becomes a valuable commodity to sell to other interested parties (vehicle accessorizers, etc.) without any compensation to the original source of the data.
Add in GPS and point of sale data, "this driver stops at Joe's Bar four nights a week, purchases three margaritas, and drives erratically afterwards," and the data can be potentially damaging to the source.
Rather than legislation prohibiting such data collection, I'd favor allowing collection while preserving ownership of the data with the original source (being a person). That person would have ultimate authority over what got recorded or sold (like a copyright), for how much, and what rights of resale accompany it. Of course, this would make the whole business of commercial data reselling too onerous to be profitable, probably more effectively than an outright ban.
Posts: 6890 | Location: NoVA | Registered: July 22, 2009
It you keep your cellphone turned off, it can’t report anything back. If the vehicle were capable of sending a signal on its own, you wouldn’t need a cellphone while driving.
Maybe there is some way to continually flush the contents of a buffer where the info is stored.
IF you use a smart phone and any guidance gps based apps such as WAZE it doesn't matter if you disconnect the cars gps/cellular, because you are self reporting.
Running WAZE today it shows when you are over the speed limit by turning the limit sign Red and the MPH, it has the ability to record that.
Posts: 24534 | Location: Gunshine State | Registered: November 07, 2008
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