Mozilla Says Modern Cars Are Data Collection Nightmares on Wheels

This is yet another reason I’m keeping my 2000 Miata. It’s just a car.

Speaking of car rentals and CarPlay, can we at least mention Data Privacy? Some cars seem to be WAY worse than others:

https://www.axios.com/2023/09/08/car-data-privacy-record-listen-mozilla-report

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I just returned a rental. I love CarPlay but never have owned a car with it. So I tend to eagerly link up, withholding contacts, whenever I rent. The last car, a Kia, had five other phones in the database. In Europe, the cleaners, thanks to GDPR, are supposed to clear them off when detailing the vehicle. I did it myself straight away and then added mine, but the vehicle every time I started up, dredged back up an android it had previously paired to. Needless to say I deleted mine at drop off, turned on the car, checked the list of phones, and just the android was there.

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Wait, it gets worse.

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One minor win for privacy.

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Sounds like a good reason to get a third-party audio/info system for a car, even if it is an otherwise unnecessary expense.

I apparently failed to click Reply on this post a while back.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html

And now there’s a report a now-fixed Kia vulnerability that required only a license plate.

2004; factory turbo. Still love it, two decades on.