this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
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Privacy
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I was active on an automotive forum around the time when that sort of thing started to be seen as a "need" by car salesmen and some of their more enthusiastic customers. The big new thing was "infotainment" and it seemed like the whole industry was insisting we'd all soon see how essential this stuff was. I was disdainful of the idea then, and have only become more so. Cars should have an AM/FM radio receiver, and aside from lights and a horn that's all they need for communications.
That's not the answer you're looking for, but it seems reasonably on-topic here. If you must get a new car, the easiest route to having it not spy on you as much as it can all the time is to make sure it doesn't have a SIM card (or remove the one it does have) and never connect your phone to it in any way except perhaps via a 3.5mm audio jack.
I don't understand why everyone seems to be latching on to carplay and android auto in this thread as if it's the car stealing your data. All carplay and android auto do is take a video feed from your phone an display it on the car's screen. You still have the privacy issues, but it's not the car doing anything, they're the same as if you had a dumb car and google maps up on your phone in a phone mount.
Most are missing the point. You’re right, running AA or CP is akin to just using your phone with a vent mount, albeit arguably safer. The privacy issues come with things like OnStar and similar services that connect back to the manufacturer. As someone already pointed out it doesn’t sound like there’s a way to remove OnStar, but some others might be removeable, or not available in cheaper models.
Your faith in the safety of allowing your car and your phone the opportunity to share data with each other is touching, but until I see the source code I will remain unconvinced that it isn't a bad idea.
In most cars the telemetry data is stored in a separate computer outside of your head unit. There's minimal communication between the head unit and the telemetry box. In the case of my Subaru there's 0 communication, the telematics box just does or doesn't pass audio to the front speakers. You can also read through the documentation on Carplay and AA. Last I saw there was nothing that allows for any real communication between your head unit and the phone outside of the audio and video signal. Carplay 2 may change things
Being paranoid for paranoia's sake isn't productive. All it does is scare off people who may be interested but aren't willing to cut out every single convenience from their lives.
Bluetooth connection is a must too, but it doesn't need to access my contacts. Just as a music player or headset.