Edit: Just asked because of curiosity. I’m not actually looking for such vehicles.
Edit 2: So for context, my parents new Toyota has this feature that allows the GPS location of the car to be sent to toyota, then you can see the location via an app on android/ios (it’s supposed to be an anti-theft feature). The data is sent via an antenna that connects to cell towers, which then connects to the internet, and to the toyota servers. “Diagnostic” and “maintenance” information is also sent via those same antennas.
The dealer said it could be turned off, but who knows if they are really off. There’s not a hard switch on the car.
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Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
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I doubt what the dealer says is true. Intentionally or not. I don’t really believe cars do us much net good anyway. Public transport and biking/walking for the win.
Of course. Just instal FOSS operating system for it.
Couldn’t you physically remove the antenna?
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Not really, no. It’s all super closed sourced so you will never know what’s tracking you.
Some cars even have cameras inside them now to verify the driver, so consider that next time you have sexy time.
I am really curious now. I would never buy one but share, so also spread my fingerprint which isnt that bad.
But now I wonder, are there any electric cars that dont suck?
All of the ICE have this too. It’s not just EVs.
Ice? Like in intercity express trains?
Internal Combustion Engine
Okay but I mean those cars are pretty much useless in the near future, at least I hope so.
Maybe have them pull out the router at the dealership. I think they have to listen to your request. They may argue with you about it and be like “yeah but you won’t have internet and all this cool stuff” but yeah whatever people have phones nowadays anyway.
Even your ‘tire pressure sensors’ can be used to track individuals around a city. https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/04/tracking_vehicl.html
In 2008 they knew about this? Holy crap I need to do some research.
I’m still happy driving an older car but the writing is on the wall for the next one I think
None of it exists in Aus, except maybe BMW and Merc. No idea on Tesla
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Your best bet for a “hardware switch” is reading the service manual to find which fuse controls the comms module, and pull it. Depending on the vehicle it may have other side effects.
Maybe we will get to the point where people are selling modchips for cars, like the OG PlayStation.
In most legacy manufacturers (e.g, not Tesla) vehicles you can disable/remove the communication module, which is a cell phone modem that interfaces with the car.
For Toyota specifically this is called the DCM (data communication module). It’s a little black box. In Fords/Hondas it’s called a TCU (telematics control module).
In some cases, you can just pull the fuse for the telematics box.
In general, when you research whether you can physically remove this tracking stuff from modern cars, the key word is to use is “telematics”.
I’m afraid it’s going to get much worse. Right now you can at least disable/take out the little box out of most cars without losing functionality for the most part. Soon it’ll be crippling to do so.
Yeah I can’t wait for the day that securing my privacy on my car cripples it to the same extent that disabling bloatware cripples my phones functionality (literally couldn’t send/recoeve calls or texts or use any browser)
Doesn’t seem far off with that Mozilla study honestly
is it possible for the car to connect to internet without u letting it? maybe just never connect?
It has to connect to the internet somehow. Otherwise how could I see where the car is are using the Toyota app? I could see the tire pressure in each tire and the amount of fuel.
There is also this button at the top (the ceiling?) of the car that basically acts like an emergency button. Pressing it connects your car to someone at toyota that calls for roadside assistance. But idk why then even have that since most people have phones anyways.
i would highly recommend never connecting it to internet. a small inconvinience for much better privacy. zero trust rule: only enable an abusable feature like internet on things which absolutely need it
the emergency button probably connects to any cell tower, regardless of your provider (like a phone with no sim), or maybe even satellite? i highly doubt that toyota would use this for anything besides emergencies (although one can never be sure)
some people still dont have phones, and that is not a bad thing.
damn that sucks