OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

9/20/11

[Libloather]

Link only - OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

[Libloather]

Registered with Hussein's AttackWatch.com yet?

[sickoflibs]

RE :”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. Adam Denison, a spokesman for the General Motors subsidiary, said OnStar does not currently sell customer data, but it reserves that right. He said both the new and old privacy policies allow OnStar to chronicle a vehicle’s every movement and its speed, though it’s not clear where that’s stated in the old policy. “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. ”

While they claim you can request that they don't monitor YOUR car's movements there should be a clear method of disabling the device in the car (by pulling a power connection plug) by customers when they no longer want the service.

[Lazamataz]

Bad.

[green iguana]

So, how would one disable it?

[apillar]

The first thing I did when I got an a car with on-star was unplug the on-star box in the trunk. Problem solved.

[loungitude]

.

[apillar]

While they claim you can request that they don't monitor YOUR car's movements there should be a clear method of disabling the device in the car (by pulling a power connection plug) by customers when they no longer want the service.

I don't know if it's the same with all vehicals, but when I bought a 2005 Monte Carlo that came with On-Star installed. There was a box labeled "On-Star" in the corner of the trunk, with two plugs going into in. One I assume was power/data and the other was the antenna. I unplugged both.

[stephenjohnbanker]

” While they claim you can request that they don’t monitor YOUR car’s movements there should be a clear method of disabling the device in the car (by pulling a power connection plug) by customers when they no longer want the service. “

There is......in the trunk.

Take THAT,SOL !

LOL!!

[liberty_lvr]

Yet another reason (like I needed another one) why I will never, NEVER buy a Gov’t Motors car. Shame too, I like some of the stuff they’re producing now despite the suspect quality.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

As I understand, On-Star is just a license for the user interface. I didn’t know you could simply unplug it.

Just wait until they make camera’s mandatory, I’m sure there will be a way for big brother to control them too.

I guess a little bubble gum over the lens should do.

[Iron Munro]

I like the new Camaro but dropped any idea of buying one when I found out you cannot even special order one without On-Star.

[sickoflibs]

RE :"While they claim you can request that they don't monitor YOUR car's movements there should be a clear method of disabling the device in the car (by pulling a power connection plug) by customers when they no longer want the service........ I don't know if it's the same with all vehicals, but when I bought a 2005 Monte Carlo that came with On-Star installed. There was a box labeled "On-Star" in the corner of the trunk, with two plugs going into in. One I assume was power/data and the other was the antenna. I unplugged both."

Thanks for the valuable info, then the above thread/article is about nothing.

[IMR 4350]

In the oilfield a hammer will solve about 905 of the problems.

If one hammer doesn’t work, just get a bigger hammer.

[zeugma]

Duh. This tech has long been big brother’s wet dream

[JoeProBono]

[Krankor]

The first thing I did when I got an a car with on-star was unplug the on-star box in the trunk. Problem solved.

I don't know if that works. According to OnStar spokesman Harcourt Mudd, they're equipped with lithium crystal batteries which last almost two years.

[agere_contra]

It’s cool. It turns out that LightSquared disables GPS applications like On-Star anyway.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

If one of the two unplugged lines is an antenna, and the other is the power - if the on-star box is metal, it’s no longer reading location data, because it’s more or less left powered on those lithium batteries inside a faraday cage.

[Tublecane]

“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”

I thought cancelling service *was* the customer saying otherwise.

[Fresh Wind]

You might be able to defeat the Big Brother box now, but once they become mandatory in all cars (in the name of safety, of course), it will be illegal to disconnect them, and they will probably rig them so that the car won’t run without the box in place.