New research reveals serious privacy flaws in the data practices of new internet connected cars in Australia. It’s yet another reason why we need urgent reform of privacy laws.
Modern cars are increasingly equipped with internet-enabled features. Your “connected car” might automatically detect an accident and call emergency services, or send a notification if a child is left in the back seat.
But connected cars are also sophisticated surveillance devices. The data they collect can create a highly revealing picture of each driver. If this data is misused, it can result in privacy and security threats.
A report published today analysed the privacy terms from 15 of the most popular new car brands that sell connected cars in Australia.
This analysis uncovered concerning practices. There are enormous obstacles for consumers who want to find and understand the privacy terms. Some brands also make inaccurate claims that certain information is not “personal information”, implying the Privacy Act doesn’t apply to that data.
Some companies are also repurposing personal information for “marketing” or “research”, and sharing data with third parties.
I recommend taking it a bit more slow. I’ve been moving that direction over the past year or so, and these are the changes I’ve made:
And some things I’m in the middle of:
I eventually want a Linux phone, but the current iterations just aren’t good enough (battery, audio, etc). So I’m cutting out as much as I can in the meantime, and transitioning slowly.
So far, none of my changes have required any effort from my friends and family. My old gmail address forwards to my current Tuta address, and getting them to switch which email to send to is pretty easy (will do that soon). All the apps I need work fine on GOS, and I’m the only one using my NAS (except for Jellyfin, which my SO and kids use).
I recommend you take a similar path. Prioritize changes that impact your family and friends as little as possible, and then optimize from there.
When trying to get others to switch, don’t make it all about privacy, make it about features. For example for Signal, there’s a desktop and mobile app, so you’d be more likely to see someone’s message vs SMS and FB (esp. if you don’t use FB much). It also supports screen sharing on video calls, groups (and group calls), etc. So it combines features from other apps into one so you don’t have to juggle apps/devices.
For example, I wanted to switch to Jellyfin so we could cancel our streaming services, and I sold it to my SO and kids by saying we could easily watch all of the movies and shows we already have, and I’m willing to buy whatever shows/movies they want and I’d rip them. So the kids each asked for a specific show, so I bought complete seasons of those and ripped them, and now they’re happy, I’m saving money, streaming services can’t track me, and things work even when the internet is dead.
I’ve tried selling the other people on signal, but nobody cares about the features and just want to use the stock messaging app their phone comes with. the only one who uses a computer to send messages is my partner and she has a iphone so there’s the imessage ecosystem she’s into already. When i move out i won’t care as much but we still need to communicate because of our kids. It’s frustrating but i know there are other things i can do. I do want to install linux on my laptop but i have battery anxiety, so i need to get over that i guess.