Edit: Just asked because of curiosity. I’m not actually looking for such vehicles.

Edit 2: So for context, my parents new Toyota has this feature that allows the GPS location of the car to be sent to toyota, then you can see the location via an app on android/ios (it’s supposed to be an anti-theft feature). The data is sent via an antenna that connects to cell towers, which then connects to the internet, and to the toyota servers. “Diagnostic” and “maintenance” information is also sent via those same antennas.

The dealer said it could be turned off, but who knows if they are really off. There’s not a hard switch on the car.

  • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Depedant on a few factors like laws regarding window tint, license plate display, and what you consider privacy.

    In general, places which are visible from a public street or walkway, even if it is private property, is not considered a location where a reasonable person would expect privacy. So if the law prohibits a very dark tint and people can see into your vehicle from the outside, then no, you should not expect privacy inside your vehicle.

    If your local law requires your license plates be visible while the vehicle is on a public roadway, then your license plate number is considered not private while it is displayed publicly.

    In some places, if your vehicle doors are not locked, it is not considered a crime for a person to open the doors without authorization, specifically if the person does not take anything from the vehicle.

    If you are concerned with things like hacking your car radio for personal information, while certainly hacking anything is possible, I have been a mechanic for a long time and have never heard of a person successfully hacking a car radio and gaining access to personal data without having to have physical access to the radio unit itself. So unless a person is inside your car with the key in the ignition, your navigation data is probably pretty private.

    In a hypothetical sense, for the reasons listed above, it’s most likely that “privacy” for vehicles will not be attainable due to the nature of existing law.

    Are there any potential privacy related concerns I missed?

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I think OP is talking about the “connected car” tech features in modern cars that have a nasty habit of phoning home