this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2025
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Privacy

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Most, if not all car companies collect and profile your data, how can I improve my privacy when buying a modern car? (www.mozillafoundation.org)
submitted 4 days ago by cm0002@libretechni.ca to c/privacy@programming.dev
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I think car privacy isn't talked about amongst any privacy enthusiasts online ever, and it apparently is one of the biggest data collectors out there. For someone like me who values electric cars for there affordability and environmental reasons, but still want physical car buttons and control over my data, how would I go about this?

OQB @PearOfJudes@lemmy.ml

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[–] robolemmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

In most vehicles with onstar (Chevrolet mainly) you can pretty easily disconnect the cable that connects the computers to the antenna. You need to install a dummy load to keep it from turning on the check engine light but other than that it’s trivial. Once that’s done, the car will still collect data but it can’t send it anywhere. Just don’t take the car to the dealership for maintenance or they might “fix” the antenna connection for you

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Won't the dealership also send all the now only locally stored data to their servers anyway (even if they don't fix the connection, just automatically by plugging in OBD)?

That's how that happened before always-online cars (pre 2010).

[–] robolemmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They might, I don’t know. But I don’t go to the dealership anyway and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

That depends on the brand and location (& in some cases even warranty tos, lol), manufacturers licence & maintain ~~dealerships~~ licenced mechanics/shops differently. It's (maintenance costs & quality) an important aspect of owning a car.

But generally, yes.

Tho non-official shops sometimes connect your car to the mothercloud too, depending on what needs servicing.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 1 points 3 days ago

Never buy a new car. That's half the problem. I refuse to ever take a car to a dealer.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Rule 2 of car ownership: never take it to the dealer for maintenance. Find a local shop and build a relationship with them.

Rule 1 is never buy a new car/buy a car from a branded dealer. Cars lose up to 30% of their value when first purchased. Several years ago I bought a 3 year old car for half it's new value - that's how much they depreciate (a Honda no less). Brand dealers are pros at screwing you over.