Wireless data sharing with Toyota ????

I read this article today and it raises a lot of questions.

https://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/cars-data-privacy

The article goes into data sharing and who has the right to it and in my opinion is a well written article that give both sides of the argument. I am one of the people that while I'm not doing anything illegal I don't think that Google, Microsoft or now Toyota need to know every damn time I stop to eat or use the bathroom. The article also says that this type of information will be worth $750 Billion by 2030.
This issue is fresh in my mind because we just bought a new 2019 Highlander and I assume my 2017 Tundra is the same but while going through the manual I read the following:

Your Toyota is equipped with several sophisticated computers that will record certain data, such as:• Engine speed• Accelerator status• Brake status• Vehicle speed• Shift position The recorded data varies according to the vehicle grade level and options with which it is equipped. These computers do not record conversations or sounds, and only record images outside of the vehicle in certain situations.●Data Transmission Your vehicle may transmit the data recorded in these computers to Toyota without notification to you.●Data usage Toyota may use the data recorded in these computers to diagnose malfunc-tions, conduct research and development, and improve quality.Toyota will not disclose the recorded data to a third party except:• With the consent of the vehicle owner or with the consent of the lessee if the vehicle is leased• In response to an official request by the police, a court of law or a govern-ment agency• For use by Toyota in a lawsuit• For research purposes where the data is not tied to a specific vehicle or vehicle owner

The format did not copy and paste very well but one thing that did stand out was the line that said :
Toyota will not disclose the recorded data to a third party without the consent of the owner.

I agree with this and thank you Toyota but I also have to wonder if I didn't sign away my rights in another agreement when I bought the car.

Also, how is the vehicle transmitting this data wirelessly ? Does it do it through Entune?

Entune is not that great in my opinion and if it is sending info home to Toyota every time it gets a wireless connection then Entune will be gone.

I am writing this post for discussion only and I'm not trying to start an argument and no I dont wear a tin foil hat and think there is a giant conspiracy going on over this issue.... LOL

 

They download the data and record it when you go in for maintenance or recalls.

 

lawsuits/liability

 

Our newer fire engines are like that and everything that you do if you are in an accident will be revealed, speed, signals, braking.

 

I was disconnecting the black box in my GMC Envoy and my brother in law who is retired from GM says to me " you know the vehicle won't run without that " . I said ok and continued to disconnect it. Truck ran fine. Even though I didn't subscribe to onstar I didn't want any way of tracking the vehicle. Nobody's business where that truck went, even though it was the wifes dd.



Sorry.... had too

 

I know with my Acura, since it has the Acura link, or whatever it's called, all that data is sent that way in realtime. I know it is because when service is due on the car, the dealership starts to send me emails including data dumps from the car with exact mileage, etc., and using the phone app, I can see car status (miles, if doors are unlocked, most recent trip on GPS, etc.) so I can only imagine what's being collected by Honda Corporate. I dont think the entune has that ability since theres no direct cell link like that or GM OnStar, etc.

However, Toyota is going full bore on this, go google "Toyota connected car service data center" and you will see they built a whole data center to do nothing but collect car data. Heres the link to the agreement buried on page 5,764,656,462 of your manual.

https://www.toyota.com/privacyvts/images/doc/privacy-portal.pdf

 

Just read the privacy agreement. Sounds just like any other spy ware oh oh... I mean we want to keep you warm and fuzzy. They can locate your vehicle at any time anywhere... 1984

 

anyone that thinks they can disconnect from SkyNet is fooling themselves. They already know more about you than you probably know about yourself. And i'm not joking, it is what it is, Pandora's box was opened a LONG time ago.

 

What models and years have this? I have 2011 tundra and wife has 2016 rav4. I dont do anything illegal so no reason for anyone to keep tabs on my cars.. that's what the phones are for

 

On my 2019, I believe that Entune sends the data via your cell phone to Toyota periodically. I think this is how it works because my dealer knew that my Tundra had reached the 5k threshold before I took it in for service. Also, I get ocasional notices on my phone about Entune. I suppose you can avoid this by not connecting your phone to Entune either with a wire or Bluetooth.

 

Common statement today "with the consent of the vehicle owner". They left out the unlawful "Data Breach" excuse and apology bullet point.

 

What he said^^^^

 

This is what I have a problem with. A damn algorithm will try to decide where I want to stop and it is all part of what I call: Their relentless lust for information.

App Suite. When you use our App Suite for traffic, fuel, weather or other apps, we may need to verify your subscription with your Personal Information, and we will use Multimedia Screen Data and Voice Recordings to improve our responses and voice recognition

I just uninstalled Entune.

 

if you all really knew how deep this rabbit hole was.....

I deal with Speech analytics, voice printing and stress sampling as part of my daily gig to guard against fraud. The technologies behind everyday devices is freaking staggering, not to mention the data stores used for AI modeling.... Uninstalling Entune won't make a single bit of difference except maybe making you feel good about something for yourself.

What shocks me to no end is that people will use Amazon or Google devices in the home, or Siri on their phones without giving it a second thought and complains about big brother....you let him in the front door!!! Every wonder why you get targeted ads about something you just happened to talk to someone about in earlier today in passing, and how it popped on your computer when you weren't around it during that conversation?

Uninstalling anything at this point is like melting a snow flake in the north pole. Accept what it is, use the tech and move on. Worrying about it is seriously wasted effort anymore, that ship sailed.

 

I can attest to this, and we do it daily