Mozilla’s latest edition of *Privacy Not Included reveals how 25 major car brands collect and share deeply personal data, including sexual activity, facial expressions, and genetic and health information.
How about national security? Russia or NK might struggle hacking the CIA but Nissan or Mercedes ain't going to have the same security. Now you have hundreds of thousands of multifaceted information collection devices spread throughout the whole country in the hands of companies that would take the seat belts out if they weren't legally required to put them in.
This is exactly why it's forbidden to discuss classified information outside of a secure facility... even if you think you're alone with another cleared person.
Obviously, humans are gonna do human things, but the government has policies in place to try and prevent this sort of leak from occurring.
Confirms my bias to not buy newer cars than the early 2010s. My last new car was a 2011. It is just right with OEM Bluetooth hands free but navigation etc is handled by the phone. The controls are still knobs and buttons. Not a screen in sight
2015 with manual transmission, manual windows, manual locks, and knobs as controls. I need to keep this car running for at least another decade because they just don't make them like this anymore. I dont want the extra weight of electric motors in everything and the cost to replace said motors.
Exactly. I'm keeping my 2010 Mazda 3 for as long as I can for that exact reason. I barely use it anyway. Bought new in late 2009 and it only has 130 000 km on it.
I essentially use it for groceries, and occasionally for visiting friends and family who live outside of town.
New cars have all these bright tablet screens to control everything and it's a nightmare when driving. You have to focus on the screen all the time to press buttons. It's super dangerous.
Meanwhile, my car has only physical knobs and buttons that I can reach with muscle memory without even looking. The Bluetooth for my phone with integrated voice commands is a nice feature though.
Researchers found data is being gathered by sensors, microphones, cameras, and the phones and devices drivers connect to their cars, as well as by car apps, company websites, dealerships, and vehicle telematics. Brands can then share or sell this data to third parties. Car brands can also take much of this data and use it to develop inferences about a driver’s intelligence, abilities, characteristics, preferences, and more.
What the actual crispy-fried fuck is this? Drivers intelligence? Sexual activity?!?
"I can tell you're a very smart man, sir... I've got a hunch that you'll buy this car if I jerk you off during a test drive, what do you say... do we have a deal?"
Can't they just make dumb EVs for now? I mean we don't have to go all out Starks Enterprises with every EV to attract customers. I still need buttons and things i can feel while driving.
Not related to EVs at all. Every new, feature rich car, is like this.
Camera systems for semi-autonomous driving, blind spot warnings, and parking assist. Always on cellular connections for maps, navigation, and roadside assistance. The tech has been in most cars for a decade or more. It's the last 5ish years the manufactures realized they could collect all the data and have another revenue stream.
They must be loving it, charging customers for 5 subscriptions for 1 car, then sending all that users data from using those subscriptions to advertisers for more profit.
Not to mention how much cheaper an EV could be if it had manual windows, less software, less microphones, less screens and just overall focused on being a car before being a smart device, status symbol, or entertainment system.
I sure hope the Mercedes marketing team that analyses the use of their voice assist enjoys my teenage son's enthousiastic "Hey Mercedes, suck my dick!" and endless variations.
Does anyone know of a resource for figuring out where the SIM cards are in all these modern cars? You really can have all the privacy you want if you remove the ability of these spywheels to call home.
For sure -- but I'm not asking if average joe-asshole can figure out which end of the screwdriver works best. I'm asking if there's resources for where in the car the black boxes live. Service manuals - ect.
So, what does Toyota say they can do with this treasure trove of information? Well, some of it they seem to treat responsibly. Like the facial geometric features they get when they scan your face to identify your for your driver profile they say will only be processed and stored on your car.
. . . Exsqueeze me? Scan my face? Um. That’s a big negatory.