How Google will cash in on your commute - WHat data is being reported

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bobsr

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These days we read a lot about data collection, from cameras and face recognition to new areas like data being transmitted from your vehicle, now being recorded and sold.

Not acceptable for some of us, and I wanted to share an article I received in a Newsletter about this problem happening in our super electronically sophisticated vehicles these days.

This newsletter is from Casey Research, and this article is from their "Casey Research Dispatch" newsletter from June 9, 2019. I will post some of it here for members to see and understand perhaps something few of us think about:


How Google Will Cash in on Your Commute
By Jeff Brown, editor, Exponential Tech Investor

Your car is spying on you…

It knows your daily driving habits. It knows if you like to speed. It knows what temperature you like the car to be. It knows what music you like when you’re happy – and what music you like when you’re sad.

It knows how often you talk on your phone… and if you’re generally pleasant or often angry. It knows where you live and work… and how much money you make. It even knows how much you weigh… and whether you’ve been recently gaining or losing weight.

Simply put, your car has access to behavioral data Google wants.

Most consumers aren’t even aware of it, but all modern cars have telematics systems that connect back to the manufacturer over wireless networks. That allows the car to transmit the data it collects from its systems, sensors, and speakers back to the car company.

This might sound shocking – and it should. While many are lashing out at Google and Facebook for their business practices of collecting user data and selling it… guess what? Car companies are looking to do the same thing.

Some might argue that Google’s and Facebook’s services are “free,” so they’re fine to make money through advertising revenues. The nuance, of course, is how they do it, how they inform consumers, and whether they’re able to keep the data safe. History has proven that neither has been a good actor.

Yet in the case of a car, it’s the consumer who paid for the product. And consumers pay a lot of money for an average car. We would think that we’d have the privacy and security of owning something that we paid for… But think again.

Your car company got your permission to collect, use, and sell your data. That’s right… They told you up front they’d do this – and you agreed.

If you have a newer model, the legal agreement was in the paperwork you signed when buying the car. It was in the fine print that nobody reads. It says the car company can do whatever it wants with the data it collects on you.

Of course, they say it’s to improve safety and performance. But really, they’re selling it to make money.

___________________________________________________________________

There is more to the article, but you get the idea.

The fact that supposedly the original owner agreed in writing that they agreed to the ability of the vehicle electronics data to be collected, used, and possibly sold is alarming. As a minimum, we should have the opportunity to "opt out" of this collection. Or at least for some of the personal stuff. Buying a used vehicle probably means you neither signed anything nor were even told about all this even happening.

So I guess what I would like to know is what each owner can opt out from now. First, by making any settings on existing vehicle electronics which will serve to "opt out" of data being sent, (thus not collectable), and what steps the receivers of this data can offer you to "opt out" of. It's going to get even more complicated with each model year as more electronics and recording and AI and perhaps even "listening" could be added to things in your vehicle - with or without your knowledge or permission.

Frankly, it's none of their GD business where I go, what elecronics I use (or choose not to use), probably how fast I drive, other habits and probably many other things. Are they selling this information to insurance companies? Employers? Others who could create algorithms to analyize certain collected data and keep records? Can get really crazy and be HARMFUL to individuals using these systems. Also goes well beyond vehicles, but this is a good place to start.

Perhaps some of the "tech savy" members could offer us some advice on how to protect ourselves from our own data.
 

drakon543

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there is always someone smarter or atleast more time on thier hands than the people that spent the time designing the systems we use every day. so there will always be concerns about your personal security and such. someone who isnt worth the air they use and the space they take up will sit around trying to find ways around security measures. unless your going to completely drop off the grid and go hide in the boonies worrying too much about these things will just drive you nuts. people who aren't going to read a contract before they sign it are a little foolish. but whatever lifes too short to spend too much time worrying about everything.
 

08HoeCD

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I used to engage in philosophical debates about lack of privacy in the Internet Age.
But something quickly dawned on me: since everybody's data/activity is being tracked, gathered and analyzed to some degree, it's not like some of us have that much more privacy than others. We're all in this together, and for many of us, far more than we realize. So, with all the millions of people whose actions are being scrutinized and date collected, who cares about my boring activities?
 

swathdiver

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My truck tracks where I've been on the navigation unit by leaving little dots behind to show me. It's an option you can turn on or off. Sure would be nice to pull that data but cannot.

Advertisers care and someday a rogue government can and will use this to track criminals and track down political enemies. Unless the swamp is drained soon and permanently, we're but steps away from tyranny.
 

Doubeleive

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I could care less about what they do with my data, I have also found it can be beneficial to me because I can access my own data as needed, now if I was a criminal worried about my activities it is relatively easy to disable it, onstar can be unplugged, hotspot can be turned off, use a burner phone, keep a bug scanner handy, etc
 

R3cord303

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yup. Screw new vehicles. NNBS is as new as I'm going. Gonna chuck the onstar module one of these days.
 

swathdiver

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sub'd.

just to see how paranoid some of you guys are :anitoof:

Someday some tree huggin' ****** will be come across your fuel usage Randy and seize your Yukon for the good of the people! Then they'll see all those full throttle runs, a quarter mile at a time in the same place every Wednesday and Friday night for years on end and send you a whole bunch of speeding tickets in the mail or revoke your license, for the good of the people! LOL
 

Tonyrodz

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Someday some tree huggin' ****** will be come across your fuel usage Randy and seize your Yukon for the good of the people! Then they'll see all those full throttle runs, a quarter mile at a time in the same place every Wednesday and Friday night for years on end and send you a whole bunch of speeding tickets in the mail or revoke your license, for the good of the people! LOL
Not too far off I'm sure. They do it now for EZ Pass violations.
 

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