It’s Official: Cars Are Terrible at Privacy and Security
www.mozillafoundation.org
All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label – making cars the worst category of products that we have ever reviewed

I am sure this article has been shared before, however I wanted to have a look at this topic.
The articles short summary is this:

All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label – making cars the worst category of products that we have ever reviewed

I am currently driving a 2014 Ford Fiesta which just has a radio with a CD player and Bluetooth. I do not need more than that in a car.

The reason I am looking at all is that that the Fiesta does not belong to me and the friend owning it will be moving out in a bit, so I kinda need another one.

There seems to be one brand that is not as bad as the other ones (but still bad): Renault; mozilla’s review…
Maybe I will have a look at their cars.

What do you guys think? Stick to older used cars and not use an EV or look at which of the manufacturers have the least bad privacy policy?

  • BurgerBaron@piefed.socialEnglish
    6·
    9 days ago

    Correct me if I’m wrong:

    Like a “Smart” TV you can just not connect the car to the internet and ignore all the features requiring a SIM card or phone connection.

    I’ll just use a phone mount and ignore the infotainment shit entirely besides offline features if it comes to that.

    I’ll pull the dashboard apart and wire in a dumb radio/mount it somewhere.

    I’d even find and destroy the antennas if I have to. I’ll buy 3rd party ECU if I can’t. Exhaust all options.

    I can drive old cars too but eventually that gets unrealistic and hard to maintain.

    • kamstrup@programming.dev
      16·
      9 days ago

      This is just incorrect, sorry to break the news. Most modern electric cars are hardwired to phone home. In most models the surveillance is fused directly into critical components like the fuel pump or the braking system. You cannot just pull out some wires in the dashboard. If you disconnected these things the car is unlikely to work. These details have been covered by people who have worked in the industry

    • KeenFlame@feddit.nu
      3·
      9 days ago

      Ahhh sorry but since a few years ago they all have automatic internet access for safety “reasons” which… we need a name for sucking air in through the teeth they abuse thoroughly. And even long before that, the data is stored in the vehicle for upload when a connection is made… unless you want to build a faraday cage around your car, you’re tracked at a creepy level.

      I think after the big degoogeling, we have to have to talk about the cars. I seriously wonder if their eu versions even are flashed without the more disturbing trackers. I seriously doubt there is any concern over it even since it is not talked about. Like they said in the article, this needs to rile people

    • quick_snail@feddit.nl
      1·
      8 days ago

      Sorry to burst your bubble, but the sensors store data locally and then get uploaded to the Internet when you take it to a mechanic, who plugs your car into an internet-connected computer