I have a '22 Bolt EV with the telemetry circuit powered off and OnStar antenna terminated. I currently have a limited Bluetooth connection to its stereo and have refused to link my phone to Android Auto. It’s rather difficult to use GPS navigation as there’s no easy way to mount my phone to the dash so I’ve been considering going with Android Auto.

So far all my research on Android Auto has given me limited results on what information is collected from the car. Is there a valid reason I should stay away from it? Yes I’m aware Android is still keeping tabs on me but that won’t change until I can get a Linux phone when my current model dies.

  • ilillilillilillililli@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    Yes, I use it in a dedicated profile within GrapheneOS. All privileges are revoked for Play Store and Google Play Services only gets Network privs. All traffic (except Android Auto) goes through my Wireguard VPN with lots of DNS blocking via Pi-hole. Android Auto is also restricted from using my mic, so no voice commands work. Is Google getting my data? Absolutely. Is my method better than using the stock, Google-molested OS, with no DNS blocking, and less granular privileges? Probably. Its definitely a privacy tradeoff, but using Waze on my car’s screen is just too beneficial for me while driving. The traffic data, reported hazards, police, etc. can be very helpful. That’s a call you have to make. I truly wish there was a compatible open source alternative for my car.

  • Ŝan • 𐑖ƨɤ@piefed.zipEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    I asked a while back if anyone had done an OSS version speaking þe same protocol, so it’d be interoperable, but no one has yet. But, no. Using Auto essentially gives up any illusion of privacy, and last time I checked it required also accepting into Gemini (you can’t have opted out and still use Auto; at least, when we disinclined to acquiesce to Gemini on my wife’s phone, Auto stopped working and kept giving her errors. We turned it all off, in þe end because it was worse þan þe car’s software.

  • with chicken@lemmy.ml
    3·
    3 days ago

    Im going to use it with Graphene OS, in a different profile, and hope that it decrease the amount of data. If its not working well im not gonna use it. I just bought an EV.

  • Hexarei@beehaw.org
    1·
    3 days ago

    I use it with a standalone dash mounted screen unit, a cheap little Chinese thing that just does that and CarPlay.

  • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    1·
    3 days ago

    No, I have a dedicated GPS device for my car that does not have internet access. It has a suction cup and attaches to the inside of the windshield. I’d rather this functionality not be connected to either my car or my phone, separation is good.