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I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. Let's put it this way: I use biometrics for my phone as convenience, but I have it time out i

I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. Let's put it this way: I use biometrics for my phone as convenience, but I have it time out in an hour, and require a pattern. (Or, if I put the phone in lockdown.) The security biometrics offer is too weak to trust. But imagine if the only option you had was face id, and all other options were removed. Operations like unlocking the door must be explicit, not implicit. I'd accept configurability, but it would be permanently disabled if I could. Bluetooth has always sucked, but even if Bluetooth is improved, proximity unlock is brain dead for security.

diebeforei485 4y ago
Auto-lock when out of proximity is a great feature.
- bjt2n3904 4y ago
  It absolutely is! Locking can be implicit -- the assumption should be that the user wants things secure. But imagine working for a company that is very excited about their AI firewall, that intelligently OPENS ports based on a machine learning algorithm. "No! That's a terrible idea!" You exclaim, pulling out tufts of hair. "That has more security holes than a slice of swiss cheese!" "Yeah, but all our focus groups really liked the feature, and when customers hear AI and algorithms they're more likely to buy... Come on, you'd have to basically have a PhD to exploit an algorithm...."
  - roomey 4y ago
    Not to be facetious but there are security products advertised as such (intelligent learning of application behaviours etc etc.
the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
> I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. Presumably because the feature is well liked. I rarely every use the buttons on my keyfob but always use proximity lock/unlock because it's just much more convenient in practice.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  I would love to have it. It would mean that I would not need to remove key from my pocket if there was also push to start. It always annoys me when I'm carrying something having to fumble and get it out of pocket. Just to press button and then insert it.
- dzhiurgis 4y ago
  My car ties the keys to seat memory - since we share car it's super nice not to fiddle with that. Also just having it somewhere in your pocket, doesn't require you to search for it.
dotancohen 4y ago
> I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. The competition has it. Some people like it. And in Tesla's case, it saves money. There is no cylinder on the steering column, no cylinder in the door, no steel key to manufacture, no rod going to a physical unlock switch, and no physical unlock switch. So we've saved 500 grams in the car and probably a good $20 too, no to mention the room in the door for the rod and the physical switch, which add engineering work. There is a long tail of removing grams and dollars from the car manufacturing process, and 500 grams and $20 is significant. This long tail is why e.g. the Model 3 uses a touch screen for most controls, why the rear glass extends far into the roof, and many other seemingly-"premium" features of the Model 3. It's actually cheaper to manufacture them this way.
- riffraff 4y ago
  but why use _proximity_ ? You may just as well require a click on the key fob or phone, the cost savings would be exactly the same.
  - brianwawok 4y ago
    It’s great. Walk up to car get in and push gas. Stop it and walk away. No locks to fiddle with, it just works.
- bjt2n3904 4y ago
  > And in Tesla's case, it saves money. There is no cylinder on the steering column, no cylinder in the door... This is precisely what I mean by "brain dead". You'll forgive the hostility, but this is exactly what I'm talking about! Nothing about this list of things REQUIRES proximity unlock. You can still require the user to push a button on their key fob to explicitly unlock the door. I get the convenience factor, I do. If that's a feature you enjoy, then great! All the happiness for you. But give me the chance to opt out of something that is deeply broken from a security perspective. Let me press a fscking button to unlock my car, instead of my car deciding I probably want it to unlock.
  - 4y ago
Tepix 4y ago
My latest car has it and it wasn't optional. I had to buy a faraday bag for my car key.
yreg 4y ago
Proximity unlock is one of my favourite features of my car. I live in a safe region and don't mind having my car unlocked when I'm near it. If it was manual I wouldn't lock it anyway. I agree that it should be configurable, which on Teslas I believe it is.
is_true 4y ago
People love the feel of smart things and a car that unlocks itself when you get close does that. It's your own butler, it makes you feel important.
msh 4y ago
Proximity unlock makes a huge difference when you have a kid on one arm and groceries on the other. You might still be able to operate the doorhandle without putting stuff down but not fiddle around in your pockets. Also teslas dont force proximity unlock, its up to you to set it up.

diebeforei485 4y ago

Auto-lock when out of proximity is a great feature.

bjt2n3904 4y ago
It absolutely is! Locking can be implicit -- the assumption should be that the user wants things secure. But imagine working for a company that is very excited about their AI firewall, that intelligently OPENS ports based on a machine learning algorithm. "No! That's a terrible idea!" You exclaim, pulling out tufts of hair. "That has more security holes than a slice of swiss cheese!" "Yeah, but all our focus groups really liked the feature, and when customers hear AI and algorithms they're more likely to buy... Come on, you'd have to basically have a PhD to exploit an algorithm...."
- roomey 4y ago
  Not to be facetious but there are security products advertised as such (intelligent learning of application behaviours etc etc.

the_mitsuhiko 4y ago

> I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. Presumably because the feature is well liked. I rarely every use the buttons on my keyfob but always use proximity lock/unlock because it's just much more convenient in practice.

Ekaros 4y ago
I would love to have it. It would mean that I would not need to remove key from my pocket if there was also push to start. It always annoys me when I'm carrying something having to fumble and get it out of pocket. Just to press button and then insert it.
dzhiurgis 4y ago
My car ties the keys to seat memory - since we share car it's super nice not to fiddle with that. Also just having it somewhere in your pocket, doesn't require you to search for it.

dotancohen 4y ago

> I've never understood car makers obsession with proximity unlock. The competition has it. Some people like it. And in Tesla's case, it saves money. There is no cylinder on the steering column, no cylinder in the door, no steel key to manufacture, no rod going to a physical unlock switch, and no physical unlock switch. So we've saved 500 grams in the car and probably a good $20 too, no to mention the room in the door for the rod and the physical switch, which add engineering work. There is a long tail of removing grams and dollars from the car manufacturing process, and 500 grams and $20 is significant. This long tail is why e.g. the Model 3 uses a touch screen for most controls, why the rear glass extends far into the roof, and many other seemingly-"premium" features of the Model 3. It's actually cheaper to manufacture them this way.

riffraff 4y ago
but why use _proximity_ ? You may just as well require a click on the key fob or phone, the cost savings would be exactly the same.
- brianwawok 4y ago
  It’s great. Walk up to car get in and push gas. Stop it and walk away. No locks to fiddle with, it just works.
bjt2n3904 4y ago
> And in Tesla's case, it saves money. There is no cylinder on the steering column, no cylinder in the door... This is precisely what I mean by "brain dead". You'll forgive the hostility, but this is exactly what I'm talking about! Nothing about this list of things REQUIRES proximity unlock. You can still require the user to push a button on their key fob to explicitly unlock the door. I get the convenience factor, I do. If that's a feature you enjoy, then great! All the happiness for you. But give me the chance to opt out of something that is deeply broken from a security perspective. Let me press a fscking button to unlock my car, instead of my car deciding I probably want it to unlock.
- 4y ago

Tepix 4y ago

My latest car has it and it wasn't optional. I had to buy a faraday bag for my car key.

yreg 4y ago

Proximity unlock is one of my favourite features of my car. I live in a safe region and don't mind having my car unlocked when I'm near it. If it was manual I wouldn't lock it anyway. I agree that it should be configurable, which on Teslas I believe it is.

is_true 4y ago

People love the feel of smart things and a car that unlocks itself when you get close does that. It's your own butler, it makes you feel important.

msh 4y ago

Proximity unlock makes a huge difference when you have a kid on one arm and groceries on the other. You might still be able to operate the doorhandle without putting stuff down but not fiddle around in your pockets. Also teslas dont force proximity unlock, its up to you to set it up.