The connected car scam. You don't own your data

Same with my phone, I’m constantly deleting cookies, but I’m sure they have other methods

 

Gm was selling drivers data to lexis nexis, who was selling to insurance companies

 

My 2023 GMC doesn't have an IMEI number.
No cellular data - no WiFi.
No data - until and unless I take it back to the dealer and they hoover it up then, and my intentions are to avoid that if at all possible.
I buy new - near base model vehicles and drive them for 10-20 years because I dislike car payments.
I MAKE them - but only for 3-4 years and ONLY because my CFO does not like jacking $25k out of savings for a vehicle..

(**) Availability: While the OnStar/Connected Services Plan became standard on many 2023 Sierra trims, it was considered an optional feature for the 2023 Sierra Pro trim. If the specific Pro truck was ordered without the OnStar option, it might not have an active IMEI.

 

Haha... If I find 20 years old car (I don't care make or model) that is not a rust bucket in our region I would be very surprised. Yeah, newer is not always better. But modern convenience is now a necessity for many drivers. I for one will not drive a car without heated seat and steering wheels. I don't really care about infotainment system, but if there is an EV with analog key and AM/FM radio, please let me know. I am done with gas engine automobile, so my choices are limited. You can keep driving 20 years old clunkers if you want. I have managed to drive modern surveillance system much less than $5000 Crown Victoria. The last 8 cars I purchased in ~10 years cost average less than $5000 for me. And my insurance has been steadily getting cheaper.

 

If you got an SOS button or Onstar in that GMC; data can get out that way. I've physically unplugged the Onstar module, under the passenger seat in my 2002. The other way they can scrape data is though your Bluetooth cell phone link. A GM app link should do the trick. Thank goodness that old GMC doesn't have as many sensors as a modern vehicle, less data to extract.
I've opt'ed out of everything in the Toyota app and then deleted the app, before pairing the car to my phone.. The SOS button still looks active; it looks like it goes through a self-test upon fire-up and goes green. I've never subscribed to this feature and it's probably scraping data. That's the danger of OTA software update. Two way communications to verify data packets along with whatever data they've collect on you and your driving habits. How often you've exceeded the posted speed limit, hard braking, how hard you hit the accelerator pedal, lane violations, how many times your dash board turned RED with BRAKE. That's valuable data for an insurance company. Now there's those little leds watching your eyeballs, to make sure your looking at the road. They're called drivers enhanced safety feature, but really little spies to protect OEM and insurance companies from law suits. That's why a few insurance companies are offering discounts to plug their devices into your OBD2 - It periodically transmits data through your cell phone and gathering data that you authorized for a chance of saving money on your insurance premiums.

But the real enemy here, is your cell phone. A minicomputer that's on your person almost 24x7 - especially if it's paired with a fitness device. Valuable data for health insurance companies. Anything that phone is paired with that's "Smart", including your home alarm and video system is vulnerable.

Getting off my soap box now.......

 

iirc, gm was selling their black box data. you don't have onstar?