vehicle telematics

[quattro4awd]

Is it possible for OrBit to be able access the data associated with vehicle telematics that is stored in the various ECU's?  and does it have the capability to delete this metadata or prevent it from being transmitted to or accessed by Volvo or their 3rd party vendors?

This is along the lines of data privacy and "do not sell my information" type deals...  things like phone contacts, location, GPS data, travel history, searches, voice recognition profiles, advertising ID, usage & diagnostics (app and otherwise), etc.

It would be nice to have an ability to "see" what metadata information is collected, how often it's collected, where it is stored, how long it is stored and how this information is being transmitted (VIA the vehicle's onboard modem) or accessed (VIA the OBD II port) by Volvo or their 3rd party vendors. 

Ideally I would prefer to be able to stop the collection in the 1st place. if something like that is not possible then to me the next best thing would be to have an automated "delete" function that has the capability to select the frequency at which the metadata is deleted. If those options are not feasible the next option would be to block the access / transmission of the metadata. 

I realize this is a lot to ask, but for those individuals that are concerned about privacy issues, they need to look beyond just their cell phone...  these days newer vehicles are basically a mobile phone on wheels and their data collection and sharing/selling is largely unchecked.

[Sodertalje]

True and regarding to privacy: Why does Volvo not allow to see my own car when it's in use? What's the thought behind all this? It's MY car and if I lend to a friend or family member, I think I have the right to see where MY car is at any time.

[x119]

Safety. Think Stalkers etc. Same across other manufacturers example: BMW.

[quattro4awd]

True and regarding to privacy: Why does Volvo not allow to see my own car when it's in use? What's the thought behind all this? It's MY car and if I lend to a friend or family member, I think I have the right to see where MY car is at any time.

there has to be safety features in place that do not allow unauthorized access to information that could lead to someone's harm (driver/owner) from this information being made available to anybody that requests it. 

if there is that much concern when loaning out your vehicle, maybe consider a GPS tracker for vehicles. I can see where that could be useful especially if you have teens / inexperienced drivers using the vehicle. 

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I would say-- the vast majority of "connected device" businesses / manufacturers are guilty of collecting, manipulation, "sharing", selling, etc.,  metadata for it's revenue generation capabilities regardless if it is truly necessary to do so. currently its not illegal for them to do it, so exploiting the loophole for a profit is just "good business" to them.

because in the end it all boils down to the simple fact that... what is just /right (thing to do) / ethical / moral, etc. is not what really matters... the only really important consideration is what can be proven in a court of law.

even though they claim the data is "anonymized" and without "identifiers" anyone with the right skillset and/or software (that is readily available) can aggregate the information and form identifying patterns, locations,  actions, etc. 


For these reasons I hope that OrBit can intervene and disrupt the ability of this unrestricted metadata collection by Volvo and it's 3rd party suppliers / vendors. the chances of the legality of this metadata collection changing is probably not going to happen, and if it does, it will be years before it actually gets implemented on a broad scale for the end-users.