Ravynmagi posted:
Lannai posted:
Ravynmagi posted:
Lannai posted:
If OnStar can "completely" shut you down remotely...they can turn it right back on again. I know for certain that unless you physically disable the components...they can access their equipment any time they choose. LE contacts the company all the time to locate stolen vehicles...even when the "service" has never been used or been requested "turned off."
The point was probably you can contact OnStar and stop your data from being needlessly collected.
And if your vehicle gets stolen, with your consent law enforcement might still be able to use OnStar to recover it for you.
And even possibly with a court order and a body in your trunk, LE might even find your car without your consent.
Ravy,
You are the last person I'd attempt to argue semantics with. My point was that the system is NEVER off. If you think otherwise, then you are just naive (and I don't mean that as an insult). Nobody other than yourself is interested in protecting your privacy. A small review of geotracking will convince you of that. Anyone who wants the system disabled should do no less than physically disabling it.
Getting the location of your car takes nothing more than a phone call to 1-888-4onstar. Of course...they charge you for an "activation" fee of course if you aren't a current subscriber
Ah crap. I'm sorry. I actually totally agree with you (you could probably see hints of that at the end of my last reply). For some reason I completely misread what Stormyblade was saying. I guess I just had "data collection" on the brain and was thinking he was talking about that.
Yes, OnStar has GPS. GPS remains traceable even without the service subscription, even after data collection has been stopped, that GPS will always be traceable by OnStar.
Regarding what Stormyblade was saying. Having OnStar completely disconnected and becoming untraceable would likely require physically removing the GPS. Do not imagine OnStar would offer that. But maybe the dealership would for a price.
I Googled how to disable the GPS in OnStar. Apparently it's a box that is stored in the trunk and can be disabled by unplugging 3 wires.
This same topic came up on ACF board. The thing is, if you buy a car that has Onstar, even if you don't pay for the service, OnStar can still (and does!) receive information about your vehicle and then sell this information to 3rd parties, without even asking for your consent. However, you can contact Onstar and tell them to "shut down" your vehicle so they are no longer receiving any information. Some people were freaking because Onstar can tell if you are speeding, whether or not you are using a seatbelt, etc...things that maybe law enforcement personnel would be interested in knowing.
Like you guys are saying, if you trust that the system would never be turned on again at the request of any agency, that is naive. However, if you think that removing vital components from OnStar prevents you from being traced, think again as you have other devices on you that are traceable -- hint, cell phone and built-in GPS.
My point was just that you can contact OnStar and by your request they will turn off the system on your vehicle. That's it.
-----signature-----
Nothing to see here...
