Cars are a 'privacy nightmare on wheels'

It&#x27;s completely possible to build an EV that isn&#x27;t connected. The idea that electric power means networked spying is an invented fiction. Due to the privacy-conscious background of one automaker, a vote by the board mandated that all their cars be able to function in a completely disconnected, non-reporting mode:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;porsche-rolls-out-board-approved-privacy-strategy-11653039001" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;porsche-rolls-out-board-approve...</a><p>And they all do, even their EV. I voted with my wallet.

&quot;If you&#x27;re not paying for something, you&#x27;re the product.&quot;<p>I feel like $25k+ is paying for something. Stop it you jerks.

I think Mazda is unique among brands where they are not really pushing high tech stuff but instead focusing on the &#x27;joy of driving&#x27; by keeping things limited and traditional. I know they have some sort of &#x27;wheel&#x27; to navigate their UX and they block certain features such as touch input while driving (at least until this new model year I think). People complain that they are too old fashioned but maybe thats a good thing.<p>Also if someone has evidence that they do in fact collect data then I am happy to update my comment.

I&#x27;ve pretty much abandoned the idea of ever owning a car newer than 2010 or so.<p>I know what happens when you buy into closed, adversarial technology for convenience.<p>Fool me in virtually every corporate interaction over a period spanning decades, shame on me...

OnStar has been doing this since the 1990s and can shut down your motor too.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;OnStar" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;OnStar</a>

My parents have just bought a new car, and every time it starts there&#x27;s a consent screen, rather like a cookie banner, with the option to accept or reject. What happens if you&#x27;re driving and tap &quot;reject&quot; is unclear, and what is being agreed to is unclear, not what I would call <i>informed</i> and <i>meaningful</i> consent.

From last month:<p>* Privacy Nightmare on Wheels’: Every Car Brand Reviewed by Mozilla: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=37443644">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=37443644</a><p>* Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=37404413">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=37404413</a>

I&#x27;m not clear on what the article is arguing for&#x2F;against with regards to just cars. Yes, we need solid legislation to make these things both secure and to attempt to control their use. But, this is not necessarily unique to cars?<p>Specifically, phones can almost certainly record all of the stuff we are talking about here, too. Security cameras around shopping places probably record and keep it on file for a time. Your ISP can probably tell more about you than you&#x27;d care to know about. Your credit cards can see your purchase histories.<p>What is it that makes cars particularly worse?

It&#x27;s possible to build an EV or even smart ICE that has a bunch of modern features and doesn&#x27;t phone home constantly.<p>But I think we&#x27;ve now crossed a threshold where most of society agrees with continuous monitoring of some things for safety reasons. Cars are probably the most technologically advanced, potentially dangerous, and socially disruptive thing most people buy.<p>If cars were invented today the regulations would be far more onerous and intrusive than the regulatory system we got from before computers existed. Safety regulators in the US are already evaluating next-gen regulations to require a car to disable if alcoholic breath is detected, regardless of driver overrides.<p>For better or worse, we&#x27;re on a one-way ratchet with this stuff.

I&#x27;m giving up my car. My primary mode of transportation is bicycle and secondary is public trans. I&#x27;m cycling about 400 miles a month. This is the way.

The best thing you can do for privacy in your vehicle is to not connect it to the internet and pull the fuse to the GPS. Good luck with license plate scanners though, there&#x27;s no telling who they sell that info to (or will, in the future).

Both of my cars are more than 20 years old and don&#x27;t have any of the internet connected things mentioned in the article. I keep thinking about getting a new car(s), but articles like this really give me pause.

I don’t see how this is any different than any other internet connected device that companies are seemingly so eager to get into our possession to mine and monetize data that we produce by using them. The device i’m using to type this up included.<p>To me this seems more like just one piece of a more meta issue that is arguably turning in to a multi-headed monster for the average citizen to contend with going forward. I’ve also seen no evidence of effective, concrete, and widespread clarity, reform, or help coming from anywhere. I hope I’m horribly wrong.

I think we are at the point where anything you buy that needs software is a privacy nightmare. Cars happen to be the most expensive item, so they&#x27;re getting the biggest news. But TVs, appliances, exercise equipment, etc. are just as bad as cars. Someday soon I expect new toilets to have touch screens, and we will need an account to activate toilet flush.

Funny that both this and Tesla&#x27;s API release are on the front page the same day

I for one hate modern cars. No key in mine, music system cannot be turned off (only give the illusion of being off), so many sensors (is there a real problem or is it the sensor again), etc.<p>These features, and others, are features I never wanted. I really do want a simple mechanical car. It is possible to get this as an antique...<p>I&#x27;m sure there would be some demand for such a car, but if the customer is king, as we are told, went do we not get any cards like this at all?