"OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service"

[dandragonrage]

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.

...


http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/onstar-tracks-you/


Glad I removed the Onstar box from my car. This is absolutely unacceptable (though not all that surprising) behavior.

[zosoboogie]

them and the government

[BlackGT5]

I have not received an e-mail from Onstar yet. Will have to look into this.

[spider1701]

Big brother isn't watching me. I removed that box long ago. Course he's tracking me with my cell phone so i guess i'm still screwed. LOL

[laserred]

Yeah I got that email too, they tell you the only way to disagree with this change of terms is to go to the dealer and have them remove the OnStar equipment.

I yanked mine out today so hard I am surprised the spaghetti didnt come out with it.

[RWD-V8]

Can you just unplug it with no loss of other functionality. Perhaps I'm confusing this event data recorder which is tied into airbags etc.

[TurboMike]

You lose bluetooth phone control, since its in the same box (if you even have it in a 09.5). The data event recorder is in the ECM and the airbags has its own box. So yes you can just unplug it.

[RWD-V8]

You lose bluetooth phone control, since its in the same box (if you even have it in a 09.5). The data event recorder is in the ECM and the airbags has its own box. So yes you can just unplug it.

Bummer... GXP-love the bluetooth. :(

[roman1978]

i am not willing to give up my Blouthuth

[richm52]

I guess its a good thing that I could never get OnStar to sync my Chris White modified bluetooth enabled box. OnStar thinks I drive a Buick Enclave.

[Andy@Livernois]

But:

“What’s changed [is that if] you want to cancel your OnStar service, we are going to maintain a two-way connection to your vehicle unless the customer says otherwise,” Denison said in a telephone interview.

So it sounds like an extra step on the customer's side. Cancel and I do not give permission to continue tracking my vehicle.


Just like when I canceled mine they didn't want to cancel, I had to "Decline Services"

[shane]

i guess i need to pull the onstar and XM box... weight reduction...

[johnh]

No worries here...only thing that works on mine is the Bluetooth.

[-Ray-]

What happens when you never pushed the blue button?

[Posidon42]

They are probably still tracking your stuff. Going to remove this as soon as I can.

[Seattle09GT]

Yank the box? Bah, overkill. Just yank the fuse.

[shane]

Both boxes are gone now hahaah. needed a good reason to yank them.

[wreckwriter]

all you have to do is tell them to disconnect the data link.

[laserred]

i guess i need to pull the onstar and XM box... weight reduction...

I debunked this theory today... my car did not pick up any ET or MPH. Probably because of the extra wind resistance from giving the finger to the "eye in the sky"....

[-Ray-]

They can track my car all they want. It's going to sit in one place for 5 months. I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to watch that dot on the screen.

[donkeyGT]

They can track my car all they want. It's going to sit in one place for 5 months. I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to watch that dot on the screen.+1

[todds87ss]

They can track my car all they want. It's going to sit in one place for 5 months. I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to watch that dot on the screen.

{adjusting my tin hat} sometimes us crazy conspiracy theorists are on the right track (for those that said OnStar would not do this). Not that I can see a reason to specifically not track my stuff...I've just never been a fan of the whole "we are watching you" thing.

See Ray! I'm not CRAZY! Just a forward thinker!!!!

[Mier]

Well Todd I still use my OnStar for now but guaranteed I'll be making adjustments when I stop service with them. I'll tell them to disconnect the data and as an added step I'll unplug the GPS antenna. I'll keep my bluetooth connection and without the GPS they can't tell where I am or how fast I'm going.

[todds87ss]

Well Todd I still use my OnStar for now but guaranteed I'll be making adjustments when I stop service with them. I'll tell them to disconnect the data and as an added step I'll unplug the GPS antenna. I'll keep my bluetooth connection and without the GPS they can't tell where I am or how fast I'm going.

Like anything, Mier, if you use it, you consent to monitoring...nothing wrong with that. My daughter is now asking me to disconnect it from her car. She hates how they call her in a redonkulously loud tone to ask if she wants to renew!

[-Ray-]

{adjusting my tin hat} sometimes us crazy conspiracy theorists are on the right track (for those that said OnStar would not do this). Not that I can see a reason to specifically not track my stuff...I've just never been a fan of the whole "we are watching you" thing.

See Ray! I'm not CRAZY! Just a forward thinker!!!!

Does it mean anything that I never subscribed?
BTW, you're still crazy.

[skinsfangreg]

This thread made me lol. Why do I care if someone knows that I drove 85mph to the liquor store. Well, actually they'll only know my car went 85, they can't tell who's driving it. CC companies have been tracking us and our purchases and selling the info for years. Same with EZpass, cell phones, passports, etc.. It hasn't affected me at all and I seriously doubt it ever will. Most of the time the info is used to make our lives easier. I guess it's just me but I think big brother has better things to do than worry about where I'm at and how fast I got there. Lol. Oh btw, our cars have computers in them too. ;)

[-Ray-]

I think I had a helicopter following me. No wait, I was having a flashback.

[travis gore]

{adjusting my tin hat}

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa93/ak_fithelement22/movie%20teasers%20and%20clips/d8d4.jpg

[AVIDMOTION]

where is this box and how do I unplug it?

[travis gore]

where is this box and how do I unplug it?

it is the larger box closest to the battery on the rear deck lid in the trunk. squeeze the connector and pull

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

Does it mean anything that I never subscribed?
BTW, you're still crazy.

I never subscribed either. I think it means that we have tricked big brother. [takes tin foil hat off]

[BLKG8]

If youre worried about being tracked, you can just disconnect the gps cable. And the rest of the functions should still work.....

[todds87ss]

I never subscribed either. I think it means that we have tricked big brother. [takes tin foil hat off]

no longer a member, eh? That's OK. We have other ways of tracking you {insert devious laughter here}.

[Shredmo]

This thread made me lol. Why do I care if someone knows that I drove 85mph to the liquor store.

My favorite post in this thread. Only person I currently try to keep these stats from would be the wife. :secret:

[Mier]

Well the matter is when they in desperate need for revenue they will pass laws/statutes and what not to make it so OnStar has to document when your car exceeds the limit so they can ticket you.

[LDM]

Well the matter is when they in desperate need for revenue they will pass laws/statutes and what not to make it so OnStar has to document when your car exceeds the limit so they can ticket you.

That'll never work because OnStar has no way of telling who is driving the car.

[Panzer Leader]

I got a message from them, asking if I had a good time at the National Meet. LOL

[dukeofpg]

Crap!! If they are so hard up that they want to track me, I say have at it. What do I have to hide? Nothing. I would venture to say that tracking our cars would be about as boring as fart counting!

[SpeedRacerX]

GoneStar.

[RWD-V8]

If youre worried about being tracked, you can just disconnect the gps cable. And the rest of the functions should still work.....

Does anyone have a pic or description of this cable?

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

no longer a member, eh? That's OK. We have other ways of tracking you {insert devious laughter here}.

:hmm: {puts his tin foil hat on his Onstar box} :secret:

[Mier]

That'll never work because OnStar has no way of telling who is driving the car.

Tell that to the people nailed by red light cameras in Houston, they made it a different penalty a civil penalty like not mowing your lawn. They ticket the car's owner and it took a city charter amendment to get it removed. Even after that they said they found a loophole to turn them back on for a bit and after the threat of legal action they shut them back off. So yeah politicians in need of cash to give away will do anything.

[Mier]

Crap!! If they are so hard up that they want to track me, I say have at it. What do I have to hide? Nothing. I would venture to say that tracking our cars would be about as boring as fart counting!

Here's the link to a paper written by at George Washington law school on "nothing to hide" and how it's an invalid argument because they shouldn't be looking if there's no reason.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565

[95_9C1]

"nothing to hide"

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565

Abstract:

In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the nothing to hide argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: "I've got nothing to hide." According to the nothing to hide argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The nothing to hide argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the nothing to hide argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings.

[-Ray-]

In other words, even though I have nothing to hide, snooping into my business isn't ethical.

[dandragonrage]

In other words, even though I have nothing to hide, snooping into my business isn't ethical.

Yep... That and the more we let government/corporations get away with, the more they will push the limits. Government is never self-limiting. Government must be actively limited by its citizens.

[SpeedRacerX]

Looks like this made cnn.com with one Senator calling for an investigation. http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/26/technology/schumer_onstar_investigation/index.htm?iid=HP_River

[Crazy8]

Looks like this made cnn.com with one Senator calling for an investigation. http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/26/technology/schumer_onstar_investigation/index.htm?iid=HP_River

I saw that too. I currently have OnStar activated in my G8, but I am going to cancel, request they stop all communications with my car and pull the antenna. This is complete BS.

[mikemaj82]

this is hilarious. what do you guys think, that the cops are going to knock on your door and arrest you for not wearing your seat belt? lol. don't be so paranoid. if the government wants you, they'll get you.

[polo]

this is hilarious. what do you guys think, that the cops are going to knock on your door and arrest you for not wearing your seat belt? lol. don't be so paranoid. if the government wants you, they'll get you.

The government needs money pretty bad, so I wouldn't put it past them.

[Crazy8]

Also, it's partly the principle of the matter. OnStar has sworn for years they would never do this and now they are going to do it, and tried to sneak it past us all with a convoluted legal ease in an unassuming email.

[ULTRA Z]

I don't like the fact that they are doing it however as much as i travel i use it alot. I wonder what they thought of me doing 164 for a few miles then LMAO I'm going to jail LOL Naw for the most part i drive good and within the law the problem is when i break it i shatter it. when i stop daily driveing the car and get more on the weekend warrier status i'll take all that stuff out.


Also i wonder how much money this cost cause think of how many cars have onstar...... thats a lot to sort through

[-Ray-]

The irony in all this is State Farm sent me a certificate for a year of Onstar.

[Dunlin1]

How about you blow your engine or trans and GM checks with onstar and they say you went from 0-155 in 10 seconds or were going 160 mph at the time and void your warranty. Or you get into an accident and the other guys insurance suppoenas your onstar records and see you were going 30 mph over the limit? Im canceling and pulling the plug as soon as I get home from work !

[kevinm0131]

How about you blow your engine or trans and GM checks with onstar and they say you went from 0-155 in 10 seconds or were going 160 mph at the time and void your warranty. Or you get into an accident and the other guys insurance suppoenas your onstar records and see you were going 30 mph over the limit? Im canceling and pulling the plug as soon as I get home from work !
In your accident scenario the accident scene, skid marks and debris field will tell them everything they need to know, so unless you are able to leap out and start sweeping they will pretty much know what happened.
In regards to the racing scenario I haven't heard of it happening, I know full well they have the capability, but, the moment they do this is the day that Onstar will be DOA, if they pull this just once or twice the number of cancellations will make their head spin, especially in the new internet/social media age. If just one member of this board had that happen there would be how many near immediate cancellations? Look how many people have yanked their boxes from just this! Ray, Charlie, how many members do we have now? This is similar to the whole Y2K thing that had folks stocking cash, guns and food because everything was going to turn off. I had a simpleton theory, if my electricity were shut down, my meter stops spinning, if my meter stops spinning, Duke Energy can not charge me for a service they are no longer delivering. If the grocery stores cash registers fail, I can not buy anything from them and therefore their income would suffer and if the gas pumps won't run, I won't buy gas, again, their income will go to zero. i had all the faith in the world that all the major companies in the world would get that problem licked so that they could still collect my dollars!
Now just for humors sake, whilst we are discussing onstar and racing, I'm sure some folks have missed this one from Hennessey and their 700 hp CTS-V:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8As1zshWxn0

Cheers,
Kevin

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

you went from 0-155 in 10 seconds


I don't consider that an issue at all! That would translate into a 9 second 1/4 mile run!

[G8GTSBM]

In your accident scenario the accident scene, skid marks and debris field will tell them everything they need to know, so unless you are able to leap out and start sweeping they will pretty much know what happened.
In regards to the racing scenario I haven't heard of it happening, I know full well they have the capability, but, the moment they do this is the day that Onstar will be DOA, if they pull this just once or twice the number of cancellations will make their head spin, especially in the new internet/social media age. If just one member of this board had that happen there would be how many near immediate cancellations? Look how many people have yanked their boxes from just this! Ray, Charlie, how many members do we have now? This is similar to the whole Y2K thing that had folks stocking cash, guns and food because everything was going to turn off. I had a simpleton theory, if my electricity were shut down, my meter stops spinning, if my meter stops spinning, Duke Energy can not charge me for a service they are no longer delivering. If the grocery stores cash registers fail, I can not buy anything from them and therefore their income would suffer and if the gas pumps won't run, I won't buy gas, again, their income will go to zero. i had all the faith in the world that all the major companies in the world would get that problem licked so that they could still collect my dollars!
Now just for humors sake, whilst we are discussing onstar and racing, I'm sure some folks have missed this one from Hennessey and their 700 hp CTS-V:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8As1zshWxn0

Cheers,
Kevin

I wish my car would launch so hard that Onstar would call. Lol

[-Ray-]

I was thinking of doing the Onstar thing, then going to the track.

[G8GTSBM]

I was thinking of doing the Onstar thing, then going to the track.
This could be a contest for next years G.O.N.E event, Who can trigger Onstar first. Lol

[Mier]

I agree with Kevin, I'd cancel so fast their head would spin and I would tamper with the box so I could keep my bluetooth but no onstar would work.

[todds87ss]

this is hilarious. what do you guys think, that the cops are going to knock on your door and arrest you for not wearing your seat belt? lol. don't be so paranoid. if the government wants you, they'll get you.

A few quotes for you...

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Benjamin Franklin

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
Thomas Jefferson

also

“America will be far safer if we reduce the chances of a terrorist attack in one of our cities than if we diminish the civil liberties of our own people.”
Nancy Pelosi

finally
"Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights"
Bob Marley

[BlackGT5]

Looks like onstar is changing their policy again:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/09/gm-general-motors-onstar-privacy-sell-data-charles-schumer/1

[todds87ss]

Holy "folds like a cheap lawn chair" Batman...

[95_9C1]

first, it was onstar

now, it's your facebook

http://gawker.com/5844346/why-you-never-really-log-out-of-facebook

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

first, it was onstar

now, it's your facebook

http://gawker.com/5844346/why-you-never-really-log-out-of-facebook

Tin foil hat going back on. :secret:

[Panzer Leader]

Has anyone gotten the email from OnStar?

[Crazy8]

I haven't received anything else from them.

[-Ray-]

I think it would be fun to press the blue button while you are staging and ask them to hold on for a few seconds. :)

[locrzn#92]

Funny stuff, I didn't get an email from them. I cancelled a couple years ago after I thought about what they could use the info for if you speed or whatever.

[mooredata]

Update on this issue. I received this today. 12920

[Posidon42]

just means next time they are going to be sneakier about it, or just not tell us they are doing the same thing.

[jzpiano]

Just got an email from onstar saying they based on the feedback they have gotten they are NOT moving forward with the changes.

Sent from my EVO 3D

[WickedMom]

I got the same email. Good for onstar!
http://img.tapatalk.com/a6cd8d78-9425-6155.jpg


Sent from my insanely great iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

[laserred]

Just because your terms are not changing does not mean that theirs are staying the same... since there's no "oversight committee" for OnStar's privacy violations, the only reassurance we get is "Oh, yeah, we promise we aren't tracking you..." wink, wink

[AVIDMOTION]

I pulled the connector.

[95_9C1]

i'm OffStar

it is GoneStar