The economy is so fucked i essentially interact with friends and family on a barter system anyway. I bake them cookies and cakes and they let me use their laundry machines.

No opt-ins because companies will do whatever they can to force you into opting in for it. Same way that fast food companies are harvesting data from people by jacking up prices and making “discounts” available on their apps. Corporations have all the leverage again consumers.

Since Nissan and Kia both explicitly state they reserve the right to collect and sell data about your sex life, disabling the microphone is probably a good idea.

They aren’t reporting you to the police. They are selling that data to insurance companies who then use that information to jack up your premiums. So guess what. You are now being financially punished for safe driving while someone in a 20 year old shit box that miraculously avoids accidents and apeeding tickets pays a lower premium.

The only solution is to forbid companies from collecting this data in the first place. It’s never going to be used to make something cheaper for you, it’s only ever going to be used to sell you something or to charge you more.

Which then reports back to LexisNexis that you are speeding through an area, which is then reported to insurance companies who in turn flag you as a dangerous driver, raising your premiums.

I was pissed that there was no aboiding getting an infotainment system in the car i bought last summer. 2015 Subaru Crosstrek has a sluggishly slow touchscreen that is a danger. Then i took a ride in my uncle’s 2022 Outback last year and it felt like a freaking slot machine at a casino. Every control ran through it and it was still disgustingly slow and sluggish.