this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2026
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Privacy

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I am planing to buy a new car. Which of these are better relatively speaking in terms of privacy, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, or Audi? I can't buy old used cars. I have to buy a new car. I like new safety features but I don't want privacy invasive features, or subscription services.

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[–] PierceTheBubble@lemmy.ml 12 points 3 days ago

Practically all modern vehicles are privacy nightmares on wheels. They have identifying sensors all over the vehicle, on both the exterior and interior. And all ECUs (monitoring and controlling sensors and actuators from a vehicle's particular subsystems) are (indirectly) connected to a cellular modem, which is likely to support 'vehicle to everything (V2X)' communications: where the vehicle exchanges sensory data with external networks (primarily the manufacturer's), road infrastructure and other road users nearby.

Your most effective remedy is to hamper the functioning of the modem, that is if the manufacturer doesn't throw an error code as a result of it. If that isn't an option, check if it allows you to physically disable sensors (taping off, or limiting the FOV of cameras, or unplugging microphones). And lastly, if even that isn't an option, disable as many "features" as you can; even though some may require you to manually re-disable them, every time you restart your vehicle...

Keep in mind that in doing so, you might also disable actual features (ones you might find genuinely useful). Mozilla's somewhat outdated reports of manufacturer's privacy statements might give you some idea, of which brands could be considered the lesser of evil. But these are subject to constant change, as are the over-the-air updates of vehicles in their fleet, and their dynamic user manuals...