So what exactly is the Data Sharing Notification we're getting, actually sharing ?

[SilverRocket]

So what's the latest on this? Still better to keep data sharing off or is it inconsequential now due to the backlash?

If I could get rid of that little "i" indicator that pops up telling me I have it off, that'd be nice.

Can you take a picture? I have turned mine off and don't have any info indicator that I can tell, only the message at start up and it seems like I can ignore it more quickly by throwing it into reverse.

One thing is that I don't use the app at all so maybe that why?

Anyway, I renew my insurance in March 2025 and only really started pushing the car after break in sometime in May so if they triple my rates or even outright drop me, we'll know they're data sharing.

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[egxflash]

Can you take a picture? I have turned mine off and don't have any info indicator that I can tell, only the message at start up and it seems like I can ignore it more quickly by throwing it into reverse.

One thing is that I don't use the app at all so maybe that why?

Anyway, I renew my insurance in March 2025 and only really started pushing the car after break in sometime in May so if they triple my rates or even outright drop me, we'll know they're data sharing.

I'll try and remember to grab a pic when I get off work. I don't use the app either.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

What if you can't turn it off? Every time I try I get this error...

 

[bpebler]

Have to be connected to wifi to turn it off.

I don't see the point in sharing data with anyone anyway. Unless it's a family cell phone plan or some shit.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Have to be connected to wifi to turn it off.

I don't see the point in sharing data with anyone anyway. Unless it's a family cell phone plan or some shit.

So how does it send data if it has no network connection?

Or is this only via the acura phone app?

 

[bpebler]

So how does it send data if it has no network connection?

Or is this only via the acura phone app?

I'm not sure on the how's and why's of it all, I'm just an A-hole against data sharing in most any forms.

The app is separate though if I remember right. I think it's for convenience more than anything, like locking/unlocking your car & what not. I don't use either of them.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I'm not sure on the how's and why's of it all, I'm just an A-hole against data sharing in most any forms.

The app is separate though if I remember right. I think it's for convenience more than anything, like locking/unlocking your car & what not. I don't use either of them.

I work in tech. I'm all about limiting access to my data.

I guess I just find it interesting it would be reporting on driving habit data over the air while only allowing you to opt out when connected to wifi.

 

[optronix]

I work in tech. I'm all about limiting access to my data.

I guess I just find it interesting it would be reporting on driving habit data over the air while only allowing you to opt out when connected to wifi.

It's crazy how much I've forgotten about this already. Scary, actually...

I used to know this. And it wasn't easy filtering out all the noise on this topic to get to real, valid information. And like I mentioned earlier, there are still several questions I have- like if this is even a valid concern for Type S owners at all.

But if I remember correctly, this almost exclusively has to do with the features enabled in the HondaLink/AcuraLink apps. They're collecting tons of metrics, and just like most data they could be used for genuinely useful features (my guess is the Type R fiasco revolves around the LogR feature, which apparently many people love), but some unscrupulous automakers decided to also sell this data for a little extra cash on the side. Just use your imagination for who would be interested in this data enough to pay for it.

As for how the data reaches LexisNexis in the first place- all signs point to the app. Which is why people can't quite figure out how much of a victim they are, because that part is completely unclear. Honda seems to admit some fault, but GM has apparently been proven to be selling this data and it has resulted in at least one guy getting dropped.

Aside from that, not much else is out there as far as tangible evidence that the shit has hit the fan and we should all panic. Interesting conversation, though. I'm literally interviewing at a company that specializes in collecting data and using it effectively.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

It's crazy how much I've forgotten about this already. Scary, actually...

I used to know this. And it wasn't easy filtering out all the noise on this topic to get to real, valid information. And like I mentioned earlier, there are still several questions I have- like if this is even a valid concern for Type S owners at all.

But if I remember correctly, this almost exclusively has to do with the features enabled in the HondaLink/AcuraLink apps. They're collecting tons of metrics, and just like most data they could be used for genuinely useful features (my guess is the Type R fiasco revolves around the LogR feature, which apparently many people love), but some unscrupulous automakers decided to also sell this data for a little extra cash on the side. Just use your imagination for who would be interested in this data enough to pay for it.

As for how the data reaches LexisNexis in the first place- all signs point to the app. Which is why people can't quite figure out how much of a victim they are, because that part is completely unclear. Honda seems to admit some fault, but GM has apparently been proven to be selling this data and it has resulted in at least one guy getting dropped.

Aside from that, not much else is out there as far as tangible evidence that the shit has hit the fan and we should all panic. Interesting conversation, though. I'm literally interviewing at a company that specializes in collecting data and using it effectively.

This makes more sense.

The data my company sells is extremely valuable, and we deidentify all of it because it's entirely illegal to sell otherwise.

If anyone is selling your personally identifiable data without your explicit consent, it's grounds for a solid lawsuit. As far as I'm aware, this feature was always on from the dealer, I never signed up for the app, and I haven't approved anything for them to sell that data or share with a third party.

 

[SilverRocket]

I work in tech. I'm all about limiting access to my data.

I guess I just find it interesting it would be reporting on driving habit data over the air while only allowing you to opt out when connected to wifi.

The problem is nobody here knows for sure and that's what we're trying to find out.

This is my take on it.

1) Is there even a TCU or something that shares data?

It's clear that unless you provide the Internet connection, the ITS can't transmit any data live like with Chevy or Toyota vehicles. What I don't know is if they have a secondary onboard blackbox, not the crash one that only saves the last 30 seconds before an accident but something that stores historical telemetry that is kept indefinitely where it can be downloaded by the dealership.

2) Is the data transmitted to the aggregators if you are not signed up for driver feedback?

Even if you were connected and the car was recording your data, AFAIK you'd need to have signed up for the driving score in the Acura Link app to have it sold. When you sign up to the app, it's there that they "EULA roofie" you into getting your data to sell.

3) I'm definitely over paranoid about the matter so I used a hotspot with my phone after changing the password temporarily. I connected to it with the password 1234abcd, went straight to the menu to turn off data sharing, then killed the hotspot and changed back the password. The logic is God forbid the hotspot is forgotten on and the system tries to reconnect for whatever reason, it's a foolproof way that it will never be able to reconnect because it will have the wrong password. So data sharing is off.

TLDR; I'm fairly confident my enjoyment of the car's capabilities are not making their way into the hands of the insurance providers via Acura. Google and company is a whole other story.....

 

[Victorofhavoc]

The problem is nobody here knows for sure and that's what we're trying to find out.

This is my take on it.

1) Is there even a TCU or something that shares data?

It's clear that unless you provide the Internet connection, the ITS can't transmit any data live like with Chevy or Toyota vehicles. What I don't know is if they have a secondary onboard blackbox, not the crash one that only saves the last 30 seconds before an accident but something that stores historical telemetry that is kept indefinitely where it can be downloaded by the dealership.

2) Is the data transmitted to the aggregators if you are not signed up for driver feedback?

Even if you were connected and the car was recording your data, AFAIK you'd need to have signed up for the driving score in the Acura Link app to have it sold. When you sign up to the app, it's there that they "EULA roofie" you into getting your data to sell.

3) I'm definitely over paranoid about the matter so I used a hotspot with my phone after changing the password temporarily. I connected to it with the password 1234abcd, went straight to the menu to turn off data sharing, then killed the hotspot and changed back the password. The logic is God forbid the hotspot is forgotten on and the system tries to reconnect for whatever reason, it's a foolproof way that it will never be able to reconnect because it will have the wrong password. So data sharing is off.

TLDR; I'm fairly confident my enjoyment of the car's capabilities are not making their way into the hands of the insurance providers via Acura. Google and company is a whole other story.....

Google and apple are watching you and your driving habits at all times anyway because there's a 99.99999% chance you're using Google maps or Apple maps on your smartphone. That's part of how all the traffic data they have populates beyond just satelite telemetry.

I agree with your assessment though. If you haven't signed that Eula, it would be illegal for them to resell your data regardless of what it's for.

 

[optronix]

I agree with your assessment though. If you haven't signed that Eula, it would be illegal for them to resell your data regardless of what it's for.

Which is what I think the thing in Texas is all about. There's prolific usage of the word "consent". Apparently GM DGAF and collected and sold the data anyway. I'm wondering if that's actually the case, because big corporations are VERY good at the "EULA roofie" (I'm trademarking this one, #sorrynotsorry @SilverRocket )

3) I'm definitely over paranoid about the matter so I used a hotspot with my phone after changing the password temporarily. I connected to it with the password 1234abcd, went straight to the menu to turn off data sharing, then killed the hotspot and changed back the password. The logic is God forbid the hotspot is forgotten on and the system tries to reconnect for whatever reason, it's a foolproof way that it will never be able to reconnect because it will have the wrong password. So data sharing is off.

This actually gave me an idea. I don't think I actually have the motivation to do it, but somebody could just set up Wireshark or whatever wifi sniffing software you choose and capture network traffic between the car and the app. Probably lots of insight to be gained there, even if it's all encrypted.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Which is what I think the thing in Texas is all about. There's prolific usage of the word "consent". Apparently GM DGAF and collected and sold the data anyway. I'm wondering if that's actually the case, because big corporations are VERY good at the "EULA roofie" (I'm trademarking this one, #sorrynotsorry @SilverRocket )



This actually gave me an idea. I don't think I actually have the motivation to do it, but somebody could just set up Wireshark or whatever wifi sniffing software you choose and capture network traffic between the car and the app. Probably lots of insight to be gained there, even if it's all encrypted.

You could also forward your traffic to something like opendns and have them do filtering for you.

Outbound filtering for everything is the future. Precisely for these reasons, because even in larger enterprises, we're dealing with vendors that have their own third parties and they don't know where the data goes. "software bill of materials" is the new growing thing. We've actually found several major products that resell their data to Russia still or collect data via third parties and ship it outside of the US for processing, before selling back to US companies. And you'd be surprised how many products you can buy off Amazon or legitimate sources that have logic built in that talks back to places like China. That cheap Amazon Bluetooth headset could easily be using your network to talk to back somewhere you don't want. The cheapo usb c cables might also be doing it. It's not unheard of today.

 

[SilverRocket]

Which is what I think the thing in Texas is all about. There's prolific usage of the word "consent". Apparently GM DGAF and collected and sold the data anyway. I'm wondering if that's actually the case, because big corporations are VERY good at the "EULA roofie" (I'm trademarking this one, #sorrynotsorry @SilverRocket )

I can't take credit for it though. I heard it from Louis Rossman. He either coined it or in turn got it from someone else, can't find the specific video where he said it though.

I listen to his videos time to time, he really is a good advocate for privacy, right to repair and noble pirating.

https://youtube.com/@rossmanngroup?feature=shared

 

[SilverRocket]

Google and apple are watching you and your driving habits at all times anyway because there's a 99.99999% chance you're using Google maps or Apple maps on your smartphone. That's part of how all the traffic data they have populates beyond just satelite telemetry.

I agree with your assessment though. If you haven't signed that Eula, it would be illegal for them to resell your data regardless of what it's for.

That's the thing though, anonymized, I frankly don't care. Heck even if they can quasi rebuild the data to imply that it MIGHT be me, as long as the information can't hold up beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, have at it.

Also if it's to show me Home Depot ads because I go to HD often, I also don't really care.

The double edge sword and the source of my worry comes from the potential that the information is used to hinder my life. In this specific case, it's related to elevated insurance premiums but these days it's not science fiction to think it could be the government using it because they consider you a political enemy.

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