OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

[Locutus]

Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service. OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data in an anonymized format.




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OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service | Threat Level | Wired.com

 

[TenPenny]

And don't forget, that means the data is available subject to search warrants, and they also have the ability to shut down your car if 'they' decide to.

I would hope that none of the tin-foil brigade buys On-Star equipped vehicles, but you never know.

 

[SLM]

I would hope that none of the tin-foil brigade buys On-Star equipped vehicles, but you never know.

I think that would be funny!

And a good self-esteem boost. For once they would be right, someone is tracking their every move!

 

[Locutus]

OnStar Begins Spying On Customers’ GPS Location For Profit | Jonathan Zdziarski's Domain

http://www.onstar.com/tunnel-web/we...ry/downloadable/PrivacyStatement-2011-USE.pdf

 

[mentalfloss]

First the Chinese.. Now OnStar!

 

[Kakato]

They should be paying you for that info.A guy should design a chip that gives out false info and coordinates and see how fast it sells.
My buddys wife had a program that would track his movements through his cell phone,so when he was out pipelining she could watch him hitting the strip bars in Calgary on her computer when he was telling her he was in his motorhome at the campground.

 

[karrie]

They should be paying you for that info.A guy should design a chip that gives out false info and coordinates and see how fast it sells.
My buddys wife had a program that would track his movements through his cell phone,so when he was out pipelining she could watch him hitting the strip bars in Calgary on her computer when he was telling her he was in his motorhome at the campground.

What's the point in that? Hookers (and affairs) can make house calls. If you don't trust your husband, what's his exact location truly gonna tell you?

"Oh good, he's in the motorhome, all's well." Ha!

And don't forget, that means the data is available subject to search warrants....

This is the key thing people need to know about having all this tech in their cars. Police can easily recover your speed at the time of an accident.

 

[Kakato]

What's the point in that? Hookers (and affairs) can make house calls. If you don't trust your husband, what's his exact location truly gonna tell you?

"Oh good, he's in the motorhome, all's well." Ha!

When he came home the locks were changed on their $400,000 house.It was proof enough that her she wolf lawyer can now use it against him.
Me and the boys got quite a laugh out of it,karma can be a bitch sometimes.

 

[karrie]

When he came home the locks were changed on their $400,000 house.It was proof enough that her she wolf lawyer can now use it against him.
Me and the boys got quite a laugh out of it,karma can be a bitch sometimes.

I just can't even imagine trying something like that on my hubby nowadays.... he spends all his time away in hotel rooms. "Oh good, he's in his room" wouldn't really tell me if I should trust him or not. lol.

 

[The Old Medic]

Any GPS unit that you use does exactly the same thing as On-Star does. Ford's program has exactly the same capabilities. And the government wants all cars equipped with tracking devices.

Lojack, and other anti-theft programs also have exactly the same capabilities.

They also have some good uses. Just yesterday, we had a vehicle that had been missing for 78 hours that was located upside down in a creek, with the driver dead and the passenger critically injured. The couple had been reported missing, but were found only because a truck driver stopped, and walked off into the brush to take a leak. There was no visible sign from the road that an accident had happened, unless you were REALLY looking for it.

A tracking device would have pinpointed the vehicles location in an instant, and possibly saved the life of the driver, and given the passenger a LOT better chance of living.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, just wait for the days when you will receive your speeding ticket by mail. "You car was clocked going 92 miles per hour at 1:18 a.m. on Highway 111 by our satellite".

 

[TenPenny]

Actually, as for speed, it's not the GPS that does the car functions.

I believe every car sold today has a black box which records throttle position, brake application, etc and can be retrieved in the case of an accident.

 

[petros]

Actually, as for speed, it's not the GPS that does the car functions.

I believe every car sold today has a black box which records throttle position, brake application, etc and can be retrieved in the case of an accident.

You'd be correct so don't lie to your insurance company or they'll push you into a nolo contendere position.

 

[Durry]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, just wait for the days when you will receive your speeding ticket by mail. "You car was clocked going 92 miles per hour at 1:18 a.m. on Highway 111 by our satellite".

Yes , and they will probably send you a notice in the mail that they have withdrawn the funds from your bank account for the speeding ticket....lol. !!

 

[Tonington]

 

[Locutus]

OnStar kills plan to track ex-subscribers

In the face of a full-on revolt from users and pressure from Congress, Drudge Report and other media outlets, General Motors' OnStar service just announced it was reversing plans to keep tracking vehicles of its 6 million subscribers if they cancel the service. Now once it's off, it's off.
The changes unveiled two weeks ago would have kept a data connection with any OnStar-equipped GM vehicle active unless an ex-subscriber specifically asked for it to be shut off. OnStar said it wanted to keep the connection alive to offer new services and alert vehicle owners in case of emergency or recalls — but also said it reserved the right to share or sell anonymous data about the vehicles it tracked to outsiders, including government agencies and marketers.
Since then, OnStar's seen a burgeoning customer revolt, been forced to explain its changes repeatedly and faced criticism from at least three U.S. senators accusing the service of invading privacy. Even the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was asked to probe whether OnStar was violating federal privacy rules.
OnStar President Linda Marshall now says customers who cancel will have their data connection shut off; if OnStar wants to turn it back on, it will have to get the owner's permission. And OnStar will "honor customers' preferences about how data from that connection is treated" — which leaves room for the company to still share data, but only after getting permission from users.




OnStar kills plan to track ex-subscribers






There you have it.