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It seems like cars should have some sort of “remote wipe” feature that is automatically triggered by the owner or insurance after a vehicle is totalled and sold

It seems like cars should have some sort of “remote wipe” feature that is automatically triggered by the owner or insurance after a vehicle is totalled and sold/scrapped. It’s an interesting thought to get a junk car a rich person owned for cheap and then trace the location data back to their house and other places they frequently visit. It could be useful for espionage, extortion, theft, etc.

lozaning 8y ago
I like the idea of a remote wipe, but foresee issues if the part of the car required for remote connectivity gets broken in the crash too. It would be nice to have a way to physically remove the data from the car if remote connectivity is down. Some kind of FRU part in the trunk where all the user specific data for the car lives. Get in a crash and just make sure to take the "hard drive" out of the car and then you dont have to worry.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  A USB thumb drive. But that would be too easy.
- rzzzt 8y ago
  Store it in the ignition key.
  - frosted-flakes 8y ago
    Aren't the 3 models keyless, and you have to use your phone? I seem to remember reading that a while back.
    - rzzzt 8y ago
      Not totally: https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-key-fob https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-key-fob But they can also store the content on the phone, and then we have gone full circle with the idea. :)
digitalixus 8y ago
Or car markers could just stop being stubborn and greedy with their proprietary trash and just support Car Play/Android Auto. That way the car acts as a dumb terminal for displaying stuff from the phone and nothing is actually stored in the car. But no, gotta charge hundreds for in-car map updates (that only get updated as often as you purchase them) and radio/traffic subscription that mobile apps charge a fraction of and always up-to-date for as long as you keep the apps updated.
- cptskippy 8y ago
  I agree with you that car makers should stop trying to provide piss poor alternatives to our phones and instead acts as conduits for them and I remember things like PlaysForSure so I am much more in favor of an open standard like Bluetooth that doesn't live or die by one company.
  - voltagex_ 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure the phonebook thing is OBEX. You probably don't want the car hitting your phone for the phonebook every time you want to make a call. IVI systems are slow enough as it is.
    - cptskippy 8y ago
      Yeah, I was reluctant to say Bluetooth because it implied that we should stick with existing protocols but that isn't exactly what I meant to say. Rather we should have some forward thinking protocol that works over multiple interfaces and is still open and platform independent like Bluetooth. Maybe even just a baseline Car Dock standard requiring Microphone, Speakers, and a Touch Display. Bluetooth is just so encumbered with legacy concepts and limitations. It hosts a myriad of protocols that don't benefit users but are easy to implement to check the Bluetooth feature checkbox. There's a full generation of Bluetooth equipped cars that only support headset or handsfree protocols but not A2DP or other useful protocols people want.
- ndnxhs 8y ago
  You just listed 2 more bits of proprietary crap though.
Spooky23 8y ago
This is a dumb story, ginned up because it’s “<bad thing> + <apple|tesla>”. This happens with any rental car or and car transaction. Also, end of the day, this data isn’t particularly sensitive. Your state DMV provides your registration and license data in real-time to third party data brokers. Cellular carriers sell geo data. Its pretty common for folks to have contact lists slurped up by third parties.
CamperBob2 8y ago
If I were a young turk looking to get started in a life of crime, I could do worse than to get a job washing cars at a high-end dealership. Never mind the customer cars, the various telematics memories in the service loaners are always fun to surf through. When I take my car in for service, they get the address of a gas station down the street.

lozaning 8y ago

I like the idea of a remote wipe, but foresee issues if the part of the car required for remote connectivity gets broken in the crash too. It would be nice to have a way to physically remove the data from the car if remote connectivity is down. Some kind of FRU part in the trunk where all the user specific data for the car lives. Get in a crash and just make sure to take the "hard drive" out of the car and then you dont have to worry.

skookumchuck 8y ago
A USB thumb drive. But that would be too easy.
rzzzt 8y ago
Store it in the ignition key.
- frosted-flakes 8y ago
  Aren't the 3 models keyless, and you have to use your phone? I seem to remember reading that a while back.
  - rzzzt 8y ago
    Not totally: https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-key-fob https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-key-fob But they can also store the content on the phone, and then we have gone full circle with the idea. :)

digitalixus 8y ago

Or car markers could just stop being stubborn and greedy with their proprietary trash and just support Car Play/Android Auto. That way the car acts as a dumb terminal for displaying stuff from the phone and nothing is actually stored in the car. But no, gotta charge hundreds for in-car map updates (that only get updated as often as you purchase them) and radio/traffic subscription that mobile apps charge a fraction of and always up-to-date for as long as you keep the apps updated.

cptskippy 8y ago
I agree with you that car makers should stop trying to provide piss poor alternatives to our phones and instead acts as conduits for them and I remember things like PlaysForSure so I am much more in favor of an open standard like Bluetooth that doesn't live or die by one company.
- voltagex_ 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure the phonebook thing is OBEX. You probably don't want the car hitting your phone for the phonebook every time you want to make a call. IVI systems are slow enough as it is.
  - cptskippy 8y ago
    Yeah, I was reluctant to say Bluetooth because it implied that we should stick with existing protocols but that isn't exactly what I meant to say. Rather we should have some forward thinking protocol that works over multiple interfaces and is still open and platform independent like Bluetooth. Maybe even just a baseline Car Dock standard requiring Microphone, Speakers, and a Touch Display. Bluetooth is just so encumbered with legacy concepts and limitations. It hosts a myriad of protocols that don't benefit users but are easy to implement to check the Bluetooth feature checkbox. There's a full generation of Bluetooth equipped cars that only support headset or handsfree protocols but not A2DP or other useful protocols people want.
ndnxhs 8y ago
You just listed 2 more bits of proprietary crap though.

Spooky23 8y ago

This is a dumb story, ginned up because it’s “<bad thing> + <apple|tesla>”. This happens with any rental car or and car transaction. Also, end of the day, this data isn’t particularly sensitive. Your state DMV provides your registration and license data in real-time to third party data brokers. Cellular carriers sell geo data. Its pretty common for folks to have contact lists slurped up by third parties.

CamperBob2 8y ago

If I were a young turk looking to get started in a life of crime, I could do worse than to get a job washing cars at a high-end dealership. Never mind the customer cars, the various telematics memories in the service loaners are always fun to surf through. When I take my car in for service, they get the address of a gas station down the street.