Mozilla released their studies, and I’m seeing a growing number of posts on the Internet about cars and the privacy nightmare they entail. I remember how this issue wasn’t talked about earlier because “just buy an older car” was still prevalent. I’m so happy that people are taking notice. Thank you to this community and Mozilla for the work they are putting in!
I’m basically in the position that I’m driving a car from 1999, and when it finally dies, I’ll either be resigned to riding the bus or finding another aged used car without all this absolute bullshit in it.
Maybe it really is time for the Free Open Source Vehicle.
Get ready for the Pine Car
I mean… I’d buy one. Already got a Pinecil.
You don’t need a very old car, just one that is old enough the cellular network doesn’t work any more.
Some vehicles were made for 3g, and can’t go to 4g for example.
Just put a faraday cage around the antenna.
My VW has carplay / android auto but the built-in Sim no longer functions (2g).
From 2011 has most modern luxuries
2g antenna sare still up and running. Every new generation is add on top of the previous like a new layer of the network. And telemetry can be collected through older gen network.
TMobile recently dropped 3g I think. I have an old iphone (4 I think) and they could not get my sim to work on it because it did not support 4g.
Not everywhere in the world. Australia have turned off 2g for instance.
TIL. But why would you do that ? Ain’t it more convenient to keep every gen ?
We’re a bit mad out here, we turned off CDMA in favour of 3G. The 3G system our main telco implemented was built for England and didn’t have amps built into the specifications.
Every site that was rolled out in regional areas needed to be attended to and upgraded with amplifiers (I know as I was one of such techs) doing heaps more work during the changeover period.
I believe the main reason is to reduce the volume of channels being broadcast on, to free up for other services (our analogue TV is turned off too).
Sure, but what it is for certain time for is making this sort of spying and tracking illegal. If I as a private citizen tracked someone this much, it would be considered stalking, which is a criminal offense.
Getting a base model can somewhat help too. My 2020 car only has carplay. No built in navigation or any remote or homing tech (that I know of). It’s the higher trims that get all the fancy tech “features”.
Oh my god, no. No, no, no.
Just because they aren’t making those features available to you doesn’t mean they aren’t still tracking all that stuff.
I mean sort of. What is “base” has also changed.
Try finding an EV that doesn’t have automatic windows but has old school manual rollup/rolldown windows. You can’t, even though its more environmentally friendly.
I’m sorry but roll windows are awful and I’ve personally seen people nearly get in accidents because they’re focused on rolling the window instead of the road.
I am willing to bet A LOT that the energy consumption of the small window servo is trivial on the ev’s battery and is a worthwhile expenditure so that the already incompetent drivers aren’t engaging in a physical task while driving down the highway.
Before every car had electrical windows, they was car with electric for the front seats but not the back. It’s a nice compromise.
I’ve definitely fiddled more on finding the damn switch to roll the windows than manually rolling them down. Goddamn switch is always in a different place.
That’s absurd. You must have many other issues if finding a button that is nearly guaranteed to be in basically the same spot across all cars is so difficult.
I actually have :D But seriously, alright then. Maybe it’s just me.
I mean, that has a lot more to do with trying to multitask on the freeway than it does the windows. I’ve seen people fiddling with their phones or the touchscreens in their car just as badly.
That’s an issue of an unwillingness to plan ahead and focus on driving, not the windows themselves.
I’m definitely not a fan of treating everyone like a baby who needs coddling because some people can’t be fucked to do better. Aww poor babies need power windows so they can drive without distraction!
Telling me I can’t have manual roll windows because some people are fucking idiots is a joke.
When someone slams their car into mine on the freeway because they were dicking around with their phone, I’ll make sure to blame the phone for existing.
You’re diverting the argument. A power window can not be more environmentally friendly in any meaningful way
I think maybe you responded to the wrong person, because that was kind of my point.
If you can’t roll up a window and drive in a straight line on the freeway, then you shouldn’t have a driver’s license.
Yikes. So according to you, I can know if I’m going to be hot or cold at any given time and just need to plan for it. Weird, stupid, false. 1) the power needed to roll a window up/down is practically nil and 2) distractions happen, stop being so goddamned high and mighty. This is a dumbass argument that has nothing to do with people texting or any of this other shit you’re trying to equate to it.
The extraction and refining of the copper ore needed for the motor, which has brushes (so a finite lifespan) but is also sealed without any way to replace those brushes (not to mention the hassle of getting into the door . I don’t think I’ve ever done it, on dozens and dozens of doors, without breaking clips), so they’re manufactured essentially as a throw away item, the opposite of sustainability.
Manual windows are easy, take no thought and if the window falls off track, you just get into the door and bend the track back into shape. Anyone can do it. You just got to open it up, roll it up and down a couple times to understand how it works and literally anyone can figure out their fix then. And at a cost of a few door clips, not an EXTREMELY overpriced $100+ for a 12v motor.
I don’t like buying guaranteed points of failure in my purchases when I don’t have too, that’s all I’m saying.
So say it to the guy who is arguing that? I’ve had two responses to my post act like I’m arguing for power windows when I’m aruing against them. I don’t understand why I’m getting downvoted while I have two people who have been upvoted who fucking agree with me.
I’m backing you up homie, not arguing with you. You’ve got my upvotes
Sorry, misunderstanding on my part, thanks bud.
If downvotes bother you not every instance has them.
This is a stupid take. You’re telling me that you expect car manufacturers incorporate manufacturing techniques that apply to your small niche that is also demonstrably less safe? And for what, “Privacy” reasons?
With a button you just press it to close the windows for a short stint of faster driving where having the windows down is uncomfortable. With a flange you’d probably be more inclined to leave them open because of the effort required to close them while driving. I think having your windows open even for a few short drives leads to more energy usage by increased drag than the window servo uses in the whole cars’ lifetime. So I don’t think it is any more environmentally friendly.
I’m sure !fuck_cars@lemmy.ml would be happy to welcome you if you decided to go with buses.
That community completely ignores reality for
millionsbillions of people that absolutely need a car to live a life in the thousands of cities that don’t have adequate public transportation and 100% of the rural areas in the world.I don’t think they ignore it, they’re just not happy about it.
They are fighting for better transportations for them so, I don’t think they ignore them. They are very aware of them and very keen on improving their lives conditions.
Multiple billions no. There’s 1.4 billion cars after a casual google, and considering how many people have cars as a convenience or multiple cars I think it might be closer to a single billion people need cars.
I miss my old 1999 Grand Marquis. Plenty of power, stupid easy to work on, rode like a dream, no tech bullshit. Fuel mileage was pretty crappy (owing to the V8 and curb weight) but it was a solid car. I largely drive cars until the die (did with that one too) and am thinking forward I may do the same and try to find older vehicles.
Man I would loooooove to find an old like 95 Regal. Totally a grandpa car, but all the freaking amenities, better cushioning than your couch, leg room, bench seat half the time, a V8 that can’t dump power and you can hold like 5 half racks under the hood if you needed too (tho pls don’t) there’s so much room.
Not a knuckle of blood anywhere to be found.
One thing I love about older cars from Detroit, definitely not the gas mileage but I can keep my spare fluids in the engine compartment lol
That’s kinda extreme lol but I hope that companies start selling non smart cars. I don’t want my car to be smart , I want my car to take me to point A and B , and be able to fix it myself.
I’ll probably just fix up my GS500 and run that until petrol is outlawed. Possibly the last fully mechanical motor vehicle ever sold.
I get what you’re trying to say but gas engines are inherently electrical. That’s how they generate the spark.
Public transit has no privacy
My city doesn’t even have bus fare. It’s not like they’re grabbing my biometrics when I step in. They’re not trying to identify me when I walk on.
You just walk on, wait, then walk off.
It may not be the most private way of transport but it’s not actively collecting data on you, which is what this is about.
EDIT: Further, it’s just easier for a car to collect data on it’s owner. When you buy a car, you get a Title which registers the Vehicle Identification Number to the owners name. Then, when you’re driving, because you’re in public you’re required to have your Drivers License, Registration, Insurance, a License Plate and up-to-date Tabs all very specific identifiers that identify both the driver and the car. The cars sensors only have to identify the owner, to whom it is already registered, and so they know the data they’re collecting is from one person/one family.
I’ve seen my cities bus budget. They have cameras on the bus for the protection of drivers but can barely afford them. They’re definitely not dumping money into shit like facial recognition. I don’t even need an ID to ride the bus. I can walk on with empty pockets and no one is gonna tell me I can’t ride the bus without ID. If you drive without your license, you can get it taken away.
Maybe your city is different. But in my city, you have to use these RFID fare cards that have a unique number to identify it. Every time you use it, the location and time is logged. You can only buy these fare cards at designated places, which has a camera pointing directly at your face. Now, idk if they have facial recognition, but even if it doesn’t, all it takes is a human to link the card to your identity once, and your travels, past and future is accessible.
“Why don’t you just use a new one every time?” you might ask. Good question.
Each of these fare cards costs around $5, so it’s not very cost efficient to discard them for a little privacy. Plus, all that ewaste.
They actually let you have that $5 that it cost to buy the card to be added to your balance, but you have to register it on their website using your full name, email, phone number, and address. I never tried a vpn, but I suspect they block vpns, if they haven’t, they will likely do so in the near future.
Or you could choose to not register it, and lose out on the $5. But again, all it takes is one security guard thinking you look suspicious, and roll back the CCTV footage, and put the image of your face onto your fare card records. They don’t need to use some advanced facial recognition AI, just some human to save your face and connect it with your fare card identifier.
There is still a little privacy left: you can still use cash for buses (cash option is for buses only, no cash option for the subway), but soon, they’ll be removing that option.
If your city doesn’t already do this, they will soon.
The future will have no privacy, you can’t escape it. (Unless you live in the woods somewhere)
Good points, and I’m sorry to hear that’s happening in your area man.
I mean… I just explained why my city did away with fares entirely, so I don’t know about that.
I didn’t mean “your” as in you specifically, but other people (edit: in fact, most people around the world still have to pay fares) who might be reading this and still live in a place that charges fares.
Which is absolutely a fair take, it’s definitely happening in places, just thankfully not everywhere. Hopefully talking about it can lead more people to get involved in local politics and try to fight implementation of such systems. Thanks for informing me.
May I ask which city (or at least country)? The no bus fares part is intriguing :)
US, Northwest. The fares only accounted for about 2% of the total budget for transit, and the city was looking into upgrading their fare-collector devices because the ones they had were getting really old and starting to fail. After they did the math, they realized it would cost them more to get the new fare-collectors bought and installed than it would to… just get rid of the fare collectors altogether. It was simply going to cost so much money that they would have had to increase fares to pay for it, and so they just said “screw it” and dropped fares entirely.
Amazing
you live in utopia? (or luxemburg?)
Neither does just existing in public?
That’s not really the point with the car privacy issues.