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?

  • umami_wasabi
    9•4 months ago

    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?

    • @[email protected]English
      6•4 months ago

      Probably not. You’d have to figure out how to jailbreak your car and figure out how to remove that code. Then a software update could potentially undo it, or you could brick it while trying. A hardware fix on the other hand is often much simpler and is far easier to revert

      • umami_wasabi
        2•4 months ago

        Ops. Missed important keywords. I mean replacing the hardware which contains telementry code. Like the infotainmemt system, or the ECU, or something else.

        P.S. Not too into the car world so please forgive some misunderstandings I might have.

        • ladfrombrad 🇬🇧English
          2•4 months ago

          I wonder if what you could do is look into a Stingray device and plonk that in your car to make it to connect to that instead of local cell towers?

          https://sls.eff.org/technologies/cell-site-simulators-imsi-catchers

          cc [email protected]

          [email protected]

          edit: whoa, I just looked at the prices of them. Surely there’s something a clever Trevor could put together here…

          edit II: As someone else mentioned, Femtocells.

          I’ve always wondered about buying one years ago but they seem like a rarity here these days. Also, manipulating that data / telemetry to show you in Antarctica has got to be on someone’s fun list?

    • sunzu
      3•4 months ago

      Wouldn’t removing the sim card be easier?

      • @jasep
        12•4 months ago

        These days they would be using an esim rather than a physical sim.