OnStar 'spying' for profit

I imagine if one had access to onstar data, it wouldn't be very hard to figure out who's anonymous data belongs to who... apartment and city dwelling folk may be a bit more immune. The pros of being able to locate your car if stolen and such might outweigh the negatives

 

This is about to get very interesting....

More here
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-onstar-privacy,0,4999689.story

 

In my opinion I agree that the collection of personal driving habits and such can be personally invading if someone feels they have the expectation of privacy. I do not agree with the continued "listening in" on Onstar members' conversations. However as I intimately know the operation and integration of these systems, it is pretty easy to make sure you are disconnected from Onstar when you are done with whatever conversations you are having. If you press the black Onstar button you are doing the same thing as pressing the "End call" button on your phone. You will hear from your radio the phrase "Onstar call ended" or something similar. If you do NOT hear that, then you can press the blue button once, and when you hear "Connecting to Onstar" repress the black button. If you still do not hear the End Call phrase you need to bring in your vehicle to the dealer to have your Onstar system serviced. Also, if you don't want to be able to be tracked by the service, you can disconnect the two antenna connectors on your Onstar module. Why both antennas? Because one is the GPS antenna, and the other is the cellular phone connection antenna. With both disconnected, onstar can not identify your location (GPS antenna) nor can they send the information to Onstar (phone antenna). Note that if you DO disconnect your antennas, then you can not use any of the features of Onstar, and the emergency services will be unavailable as well.

As a personal note here, the common nomenclature for General Motors Corporation is "GM" not "GMC" as one may think. GMC is the nomenclature/designator for GMC trucks.

 

One problem with that jAzz. That assumes you NEVER have your car on private property. GPS data does not shut off once you leave public roads. Therefor, it's very easy to make a case on all of those points as long as the data collection happened at any time on private property.

I'm glad I found this thread. We are going to be buying a van soon. Now I know to make sure that it does not include an OnStar package.

 

The vast majority of vehicles are going to spend the vast majority of their driving time on public roads. My cars are only on private property when they're parked.

 

WIN!!!

more here...
http://jalopnik.com/5844322/

This was the part that bothered me the most.

 

Same with my car, but not every one is like us. All it takes is one or two people to make the case. Though it's sounding like enough people have told them to fuck off that they are already back peddling.

 

One thing that I do think is funny is how many people like to complain about the bad things that come as a result of a product, and not look at the positive. Remember what Onstar's largest advantage is: Accident notification services. When you are involved in an accident that deploys any of the airbags, Onstar's computer system automatically signals Onstar service, and the service attempts to make contact with you. In the event that contact cannot be made, or if contact IS made and the customer desires it, then police, fire, and rescue will be dispatched. With GPS tracking, they are able to let the EMTs know the EXACT location of a vehicle. This REALLY helps in case an accident is severe enough where the vehicle may not be seen from the open road. So having Onstar active on your vehicle can be a good thing.

 

The percent of OnStar vehicles will have an accident where OnStar actually makes a difference in the occupants survivability vs. the percent of vehicles OnStar is collecting data.

My guess is minuscule vs. near 100%.

Is the collection of data of the vast majority of users excused by the potential of improving the survivability of very few?

Nah, there's got to be a better reason, at least for me.

OnStar can still perform its original intended service without collecting and selling personal data, anonymized or not.

 

While I agree with not collecting personal data, can you put a price tag on a person's life? If their service can result in saving just one life, which it has, then it is worth it, don't you think? If not, then I suggest you talk to those whose lives it has saved.

Again, please understand that I am NOT defending their collection of personal data. What I am defending is the service itself, and what it does. Can you put a price tag, either financial or otherwise, on a human life?

 

AlabamaMan1968, I don't think that the merits of OnStar have anything to do with the conversation. It's a service. Some folks think that it's a good investment. Yippee. The point, though, is that GM is using that service to collect data then sell it to someone else. Whether or not the service works for the user, GM is selling the details of what they do in their car to someone else. Now, GM discloses that they could do that to folks up front, and if you sign up for the service, you do so knowing that you'll be monitored. The problem was whether GM could sell the data of folks who didn't buy OnStar service.

As far as OnStar is concerned - I've got AAA, and the OnStar service doesn't really compare in most circumstances for my family. But let's stop shilling for OnStar, shall we?

 

I didn't realize I was "shilling" for Onstar. I was just making sure that all the information was being presented at to what Onstar is, and does. the fact that they are possibly selling personal information to 3rd party businesses is something that I disagree with. My point was that some people were saying they didn't want the service at all. I merely was trying to make sure they understoood the benifits as well. Maybe my 20 years of working for GM has me a bit one sided. My bad.
As to AAA and Onstar being compared, there is no comparison. the services offered are completely different. One offers road side assistance with a phone call, the other offers self-operating accident notification. Try calling AAA when you are unconscious lying in a ditch. Thats all I am saying. If I am sounding like I am shilling, then I will end my posting here, as I am sounding completely different that what I am intending.

 

It's "shilling" because you're extolling the virtues of OnStar, not dicussing the topic at hand. If you have something to say about that - which is whether or not GM is right to sell data collected by OnStar - let's hear it. Otherwise, you're off topic.

 

OK. Well I had been mentioning that I disagree with what they are doing about collecting data. I didn't realize we couldn't expand on the topic any. sorry for my mistake