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EV that does not track my every move (www.mozillafoundation.org)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/privacy@programming.dev
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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?

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[–] 26 points 11 months ago* (13 children)

List of automotive connectivity module providers: https://www.evbusiness.net/ev-directory/automotive-lte-5g-module-manufacturers/

Find which one your car has. Then see if you can find a repair manual with schematics. Find where the cell antenna connects. Non-destructively disconnect it. This way your telematics won't be affected. It will just look like you're always in a cell dead-zone.

Edit: don't do this if it's a lease, a rental, or there's a loan on the vehicle. If you own it outright and it doesn't void the warranty, go nuts.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (10 children)

    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.

    You have to neuter the sensors, not just the cell antenna

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    Its not the sensors that store the data, the ecu/pcm/bcm do that. Yes, there is essentially a black box function in most modern-ish cars that logs the last X minutes of driving. It likely also has an "event recorder" for when certain conditions are triggered.

    I know for a fact that most have reflash counters or log when the ecu was written to last. That is more to do with tuning or warranty stuff but still.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    Of course, but the computer won't store any sensitive data if you neuter the sensors.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    Yeah that isn't an option unless you want the dash to light up like a Christmas tree, your abs not to work, the stability/traction control to freak out and disable your accellerator, or cause an airbag fault, or cause the seatbelt pretensioners to fault.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

    You're saying the airbag will fail if I feed it a black feed from the cameras and silence from the microphones? Huh.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    No, I am saying if you disable or tweak the sensors that feed the onboard telemetry system on a modern car which include sensors for the accelerator pedal position, vehicle speed, individual wheel speed sensors (for abs, traction control, and stability control), the car will probably freak out and enter limp mode.

    If you screw with the stability or traction sensors, they can cause the airbags to not trigger properly or predictably. Remember, there are basic impact sensors for airbags but there are also angle sensors and accelerometers for rollover detection now. If you disable any of that, the car will not work properly.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, and I'm saying that those aren't the sensors that we need to neuter. Namely the surveillance sensors are cameras, microphones, and seat sensors.

    Basically all the things that they use to sell your sexual habits to the highest bidder.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Would it be possible/easier to slap a Faraday cage around it instead of disconnecting anything?

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  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago

    In most cars, there is an integrated antenna for all wireless signals. For example:

    These are often mounted behind non-metallic surfaces (plastic bumper, spoiler, etc). You can try to cover them up, but it means you'll lose all the other antenna functions.

    Disconnecting at the other end can only take out cellular without affecting wifi, Bluetooth, etc.

    Mind you, it's not easy. There's a wiring harness with a waterproof connector that eventually goes into the cell modem. You'll have to find the right antenna pin and disrupt the signal. Different for every make/model and not possible without proper schematics.

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