chasing0entropy 3 days ago

Yes - remove the telematics radio and GPS antennas. They are usually in the overhead console area around/behind the lighting and mirror controls.

In BMWs, the gps antenna is behind the upper lights, the telematics and V2V antenna is in the sharkfin(unplug it from underneath the headliner)

  • ryandrake 3 days ago

    Giving car companies your money (and then modifying your car) is still rewarding car companies for their bad behavior. We really need to stop buying new cars and somehow make it clear that telematics are the reason, but it's never going to happen. Not enough people care, and of those who care, not enough of them care enough to stop buying these cars.

  • encom 3 days ago

    But what's the point if you're just going to use Android Auto or Apple's car-thing instead? You're just letting some other company invade your privacy.

    • Proofread0592 3 days ago

      Consent and convenience. When I use google maps, I am trading my privacy for accurate directions and traffic times. When I buy a car that sells my location, and I get nothing in return, I feel like the deal is inequitable.

    • jeroenhd 3 days ago

      OsmAnd works fine in Android Auto with WiFi and mobile data turned off. Sygic does too. I believe TomTom also sells navigation apps that will work fine under these conditions.

      I use Android Auto mostly because I don't trust manufacturers of car components to maintain their software and to put more than bargain bin SoCs in their infotainment consoles. There's no need for your Android phone to have a connection to the outside world if all you're using it for is locally installed apps.

    • baobun 3 days ago

      Assuming things much? It's actually totally reasonable to opt out of both of those, too.

      Then on the other hand, who cares about those when your car is already tracking you? /s That kind of helpless reasoning needs to die.

stavros 3 days ago

In my BYD Seal, I removed the SIM card that's easily accessible from inside the armrest compartment.

markus_zhang 3 days ago

Maybe there is a way to pollute the data? At least it makes data cleaning more expensive.

DonHopkins 3 days ago

Ride a bike.

  • pixelpoet 3 days ago

    I've never had a driver's licence, lived in a zillion countries; don't think I could do that in America though.

    • Retric 3 days ago

      Over half of New York City households are car-free. That jumps to 3/4 in Manhattan.

      Millions of American households don’t have a car, but you rarely hear about it as a viable option.

      • JoeBOFH 3 days ago

        Because as soon as you leave a major metropolitan area, not having a car is almost a nonstarter.

      • tavavex 2 days ago

        NYC is the absolute best case in the US, if you're talking about the ability to exist without a car. It's not that no one talks about those millions of households, it's that they are all concentrated on a few standout islands (literally!) in a sea of the nearly identical car-only supermajority of cities. It's the exception to all exceptions.

      • calvinmorrison 3 days ago

        "the best public transit in the densest US city barely manages to reach 50% of car-free lifestyle" is what you're leaving out.

        • Retric 3 days ago

          A household not having a car is a much higher benchmark than being able to live a car free lifestyle.

          It’s common for people to own a car and not use it for weeks, months, or in some cases years at a time.

      • drnick1 3 days ago

        I would argue that even in NYC, having a car is necessary if you ever want to leave NYC (and you will want to).

        • Retric 3 days ago

          It’s not useful if you generally fly most places you travel to. An of course if you’re going months-years without using a car then renting becomes relatively more convenient.

  • chneu 3 days ago

    Not possible when things are 10+ mile apart and a general grocery run takes 3+ hours and you can't carry more than a backpack, so you have to do it multiple times a week.

    • Zigurd 3 days ago

      The US is ripe for an e-bike revolution. The distances, the wide roads with plenty of room for bike lanes, and the revulsion against things like Flock...

      Unfortunately it's as likely as this being the year of the Linux desktop because Windows 11.

throwaway2027 3 days ago

No. Enjoy the ride.

  • qmr 3 days ago

    Defeatist and cowardly.

    • randallsquared 3 days ago

      Given that GP is accepting a level of additional risk which you profess not to be willing to accept, perhaps "cowardly" is not the correct adjective.

amelius 3 days ago

Moving to the EU becomes a more appealing option every day.

  • pixelpoet 3 days ago

    Greetz from Germany, we have Chat Control now even though we've been trying to reject it for at least 3 years.

    Autocracy is just everywhere these days, Noah get the boat.

    • jeroenhd 3 days ago

      The Chat Control problem isn't nearly as final as some news sources try to brand it. They were running up against deadlines and submitted their work knowing statistically their proposal would get shot down based on existing voting rounds.

      I, too, would rather see this bullshit die in committee before reaching the next stage, but this bullshit can still be stopped.

  • closewith 3 days ago

    In the EU, eCall is mandatory and disabling it fails most roadworthiness checks and voids most insurance policies, so it doesn't help much.

    Also, while the EU does (for now) have stronger privacy protections for citizens against corporate interests, the opposite is true in most EU countries for Government surveillance.

    • deno 3 days ago

      eCall has very strong privacy protections, see Article 6: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/758/oj

      • closewith 3 days ago

        While eCall has some weak privacy protections (it's open to all the standard cellular network surveillance lawful in each country), it also means you cannot disable the vehicle's modem in most (maybe all) EU countries with failing roadworthiness checks and insurance policies.

  • f1shy 3 days ago

    No panacea here! Better in some points. In general privacy. OTOH many things are not afvancing.