5 ms·

"a new feature called “Dashcam” that, as the name suggests, records video (and audio, optionally) while you are driving. If your phone is mounted in the right s

"a new feature called “Dashcam” that, as the name suggests, records video (and audio, optionally) while you are driving. If your phone is mounted in the right spot, the recording should provide helpful information in the event of an accident or other unexpected situation." A perfect way to collect information about your driving habits and vehicle. Insurance companies, auto sales and maintenance companies, and others would love to find new customers this way.

lern_too_spel 3y ago
They already collect tracking data with Google Maps and already use car engine type to estimate gas usage on different routes.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  Now they can collect not just yours, but also other people's license plate movements and facial recognition. It's great producing eyes for Google everywhere - which is why the Ring was worth a billion $ for Amazon.
  - hef19898 3y ago
    Just found out that my Pixel 7 has, so deeply hidden I don't find it again easily, a check box limiting / allowing access to car data. I didn't turn it on... Well, there is a long weekend coming up, maybe if I find time despite the huge home project backlog to install CalxyOS, I hate it that I cannot trust my phone to not spy on me and my activities despite everything being turned of. After all, some settings changed after various app updates.
    - fsflover 3y ago
      If you want a phone you can trust, you might like a GNU/Linux phone (Librem 5 or Pinephone).
    - mindslight 3y ago
      (I know this doesn't really help you now, but) If you install your self-representing operating system as part of setting up a new phone, then you don't end up in a situation where it's some huge disruptive undertaking. Also doing so within the purchase return period assures that your phone can definitely be unlocked, rather than finding out otherwise when it's too late.
    - RunSet 3y ago
      Since the main reason not to use grapheneOS is that it only supports Pixels and you already have one, you might also consider it. Install feels almost suspiciously easy coming from the likes of cyanogenmod. https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/
      - propogandist 3y ago
        >Install feels almost suspiciously easy coming from the likes of cyanogenmod. this is a great teaser statement I miss the days of having to open 9 xda threads to figure out how to install some ROM. That whole scene seems to have died off as Android puts up more walls to increase reliance on locked down services
szszrk 3y ago
There is plenty navigation/maps<->insurance or police-detection<->insurance cooperation here in Poland. It analyzes your driving and offers discounts based on that. There is also plenty of dedicated dashcam apps and functions in map apps so I'm curious why this Pixel addon brings attention.
nologic01 3y ago
Car companies already advertise new models as fully Googlyfied (as if that is a good thing) so when informed people lament that a large part of the population are basically convenience seeking, gullible imbeciles its not far from the truth. That such an important aspect of our lives as privacy would come to be trampled so easily is just mind boggling. Wisdom of the crowds my a*. The only way you can prevent organized corporate abuse is to have very empowered and savvy regulators that somehow truly work for the interests of the many. A highly non-trivial catch-22 given that in a democracy they can only draw legitimacy for their actions by appealing to the same inane and manipulated multitudes.
- jeffbee 3y ago
  That most people are not aligned with your privacy-maximalist worldview does not make us imbeciles.
  - kyboren 3y ago
    No, but it's not far from the truth.
judge2020 3y ago
Dashcams should 100% be required in every car. Too many accidents are a he-said-she-said situation, sometimes without any impartial witnesses.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  Everyone should be free to choose if they have a car that automatically generates tons of evidence against themselves that the cops just have to seize. It's bad enough with eCall and the trend to insurances requiring recording blackboxes (or modern cars doing that all on their own), but dashcams? I can already see police demanding laws allowing them to force you to hand them over access to the footage at a roadside traffic stop and them running AI scans on it to see if you ran a stop sign or red light or if you were speeding. Where there's feeding troughs of data, the pigs will always come to demand being fed (a rough translation of the German saying "Wenn man den Trog hat, kommen die Schweine von ganz alleine").
  - sacrosancty 3y ago
    [dead]
- leetcrew 3y ago
  no thanks. pervasive surveillance is bad enough already without the requirement that the surveiled pay for the hardware themselves.
  - judge2020 3y ago
    Why is surveillance a requirement? Local recordings would have virtually no downsides unless the intention is to evade responsibility for traffic collisions.
    - leetcrew 3y ago
      I do actually have a dashcam built into my personal vehicle. I have mixed feelings about it, but overall I think the benefits outweigh the risks. that said, the risks are not to be taken lightly. even if the recording is only stored locally, it can be seized by authorities or subpoenaed later. you can't guarantee it will only be used to settle minor traffic disputes. like I said, I'm (mostly) happy to make that decision for myself. but having the government require people to collect evidence against themselves is a hard no from me.

lern_too_spel 3y ago

They already collect tracking data with Google Maps and already use car engine type to estimate gas usage on different routes.

hackernewds 3y ago
Now they can collect not just yours, but also other people's license plate movements and facial recognition. It's great producing eyes for Google everywhere - which is why the Ring was worth a billion $ for Amazon.
- hef19898 3y ago
  Just found out that my Pixel 7 has, so deeply hidden I don't find it again easily, a check box limiting / allowing access to car data. I didn't turn it on... Well, there is a long weekend coming up, maybe if I find time despite the huge home project backlog to install CalxyOS, I hate it that I cannot trust my phone to not spy on me and my activities despite everything being turned of. After all, some settings changed after various app updates.
  - fsflover 3y ago
    If you want a phone you can trust, you might like a GNU/Linux phone (Librem 5 or Pinephone).
  - mindslight 3y ago
    (I know this doesn't really help you now, but) If you install your self-representing operating system as part of setting up a new phone, then you don't end up in a situation where it's some huge disruptive undertaking. Also doing so within the purchase return period assures that your phone can definitely be unlocked, rather than finding out otherwise when it's too late.
  - RunSet 3y ago
    Since the main reason not to use grapheneOS is that it only supports Pixels and you already have one, you might also consider it. Install feels almost suspiciously easy coming from the likes of cyanogenmod. https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/
    - propogandist 3y ago
      >Install feels almost suspiciously easy coming from the likes of cyanogenmod. this is a great teaser statement I miss the days of having to open 9 xda threads to figure out how to install some ROM. That whole scene seems to have died off as Android puts up more walls to increase reliance on locked down services

szszrk 3y ago

There is plenty navigation/maps<->insurance or police-detection<->insurance cooperation here in Poland. It analyzes your driving and offers discounts based on that. There is also plenty of dedicated dashcam apps and functions in map apps so I'm curious why this Pixel addon brings attention.

nologic01 3y ago

Car companies already advertise new models as fully Googlyfied (as if that is a good thing) so when informed people lament that a large part of the population are basically convenience seeking, gullible imbeciles its not far from the truth. That such an important aspect of our lives as privacy would come to be trampled so easily is just mind boggling. Wisdom of the crowds my a*. The only way you can prevent organized corporate abuse is to have very empowered and savvy regulators that somehow truly work for the interests of the many. A highly non-trivial catch-22 given that in a democracy they can only draw legitimacy for their actions by appealing to the same inane and manipulated multitudes.

jeffbee 3y ago
That most people are not aligned with your privacy-maximalist worldview does not make us imbeciles.
- kyboren 3y ago
  No, but it's not far from the truth.

judge2020 3y ago

Dashcams should 100% be required in every car. Too many accidents are a he-said-she-said situation, sometimes without any impartial witnesses.

mschuster91 3y ago
Everyone should be free to choose if they have a car that automatically generates tons of evidence against themselves that the cops just have to seize. It's bad enough with eCall and the trend to insurances requiring recording blackboxes (or modern cars doing that all on their own), but dashcams? I can already see police demanding laws allowing them to force you to hand them over access to the footage at a roadside traffic stop and them running AI scans on it to see if you ran a stop sign or red light or if you were speeding. Where there's feeding troughs of data, the pigs will always come to demand being fed (a rough translation of the German saying "Wenn man den Trog hat, kommen die Schweine von ganz alleine").
- sacrosancty 3y ago
  [dead]
leetcrew 3y ago
no thanks. pervasive surveillance is bad enough already without the requirement that the surveiled pay for the hardware themselves.
- judge2020 3y ago
  Why is surveillance a requirement? Local recordings would have virtually no downsides unless the intention is to evade responsibility for traffic collisions.
  - leetcrew 3y ago
    I do actually have a dashcam built into my personal vehicle. I have mixed feelings about it, but overall I think the benefits outweigh the risks. that said, the risks are not to be taken lightly. even if the recording is only stored locally, it can be seized by authorities or subpoenaed later. you can't guarantee it will only be used to settle minor traffic disputes. like I said, I'm (mostly) happy to make that decision for myself. but having the government require people to collect evidence against themselves is a hard no from me.