If people really cared about privacy and their cars and were serious about solving it, disabling the telematics control unit or the cellular modem would resolve this issue pretty quickly. None of the cars on the road today need internet connectivity to function.
However, if they have built-in Google maps or navigation system, well that’s always going to be a privacy issue right? This is no different than having GPS and maps on your phone.
Judging by the lack of tik Tok videos on how to disable your car’s cell modem, I’m guessing this isn’t that big of an issue for people.
Disabling it often bricks the car because it’s tied into an ECU or network that requires it. Even if it doesn’t and you could say go and unplug it or a fuse for it, the one in the focus (according to Google) is behind the dash and would probably require you to remove the dash to access it. You could unplug an antenna or something but then other features like radio or GPS might not work. If your car has integrated GPS do not be surprised if it’s the same antenna.
As these cards age out, the cellular standard that they support will be eventually dropped and then they won’t work. Just like owning an old cell phone.
This has happened with 3G networked and older vehicles (OnStar has been a thing since the 90’s). People tried to unplug the OnStar hardware but they ran it through a CAN bus and it would disable the car (to prevent thieves from circumventing it).
Yes. A lot of cars and car manufacturers include a Telematics Control Unit (a Cellular wifi modem) in their vehicles.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2015/11/17/ford-steps-into-the-vehicle-telematics-space-with-sync-connect/
If people really cared about privacy and their cars and were serious about solving it, disabling the telematics control unit or the cellular modem would resolve this issue pretty quickly. None of the cars on the road today need internet connectivity to function.
However, if they have built-in Google maps or navigation system, well that’s always going to be a privacy issue right? This is no different than having GPS and maps on your phone.
Judging by the lack of tik Tok videos on how to disable your car’s cell modem, I’m guessing this isn’t that big of an issue for people.
Disabling it often bricks the car because it’s tied into an ECU or network that requires it. Even if it doesn’t and you could say go and unplug it or a fuse for it, the one in the focus (according to Google) is behind the dash and would probably require you to remove the dash to access it. You could unplug an antenna or something but then other features like radio or GPS might not work. If your car has integrated GPS do not be surprised if it’s the same antenna.
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/
Here’s a better explanation than I can ever give on the privacy aspect of this and the data car manufacturers are collecting.
As these cards age out, the cellular standard that they support will be eventually dropped and then they won’t work. Just like owning an old cell phone.
This has happened with 3G networked and older vehicles (OnStar has been a thing since the 90’s). People tried to unplug the OnStar hardware but they ran it through a CAN bus and it would disable the car (to prevent thieves from circumventing it).