Can I disable all data collection from my vehicle?

[Steve A.]

The Cubans are frying his brain with microwave.

The closest that I've been to Cuba was Key West, FL (90 miles) but directed energy weapons (DEW) are a real thing and go as far back as the mid-60s.

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[CANCERDOC]

I doubt there is a way Rivian will help you disable the telematics such that you have zero LTE and GPS capability since it would void their own warranty. And I’m not sure the vehicle would even function long term with telematics fully disabled.

With that said, we don’t really need a thread here with a bunch of conspiracy theories about how telemetry from a single vehicle will lead to the downfall of civilization. Plenty of other vehicles that don’t transmit anything but probably not many options for brand new cars.

 

[Steve A.]

just like your cell carrier.

Again, not without a warrant but to counter the carrier profiteering off of your cellular data, there is at least Purism's AweSIM.

Major cellular providers are creating unified customer identifiers based on customer account information (name, address, billing information) and unique identifiers on your mobile devices so they can “identify users across multiple devices and serve them relevant advertising.
Librem AweSIM adds an extra layer of privacy to your customer data to protect you from targeted tracking.

We register your phone number in our name on your behalf and keep your personal and financial data private and out of the hands of companies who would sell it to others.

 

[Steve A.]

no, I saw that. Doesn’t matter, your carrier is still collecting your location data. You can’t get away from that from any carrier. They can monitor where you are in real time.

Of course but the point is what they do w/ your data. See my recent reply regarding Purism's AweSIM service.

 

[Steve A.]

I doubt there is a way Rivian will help you disable the telematics such that you have zero LTE and GPS capability since it would void their own warranty. And I’m not sure the vehicle would even function long term with telematics fully disabled.

With that said, we don’t really need a thread here with a bunch of conspiracy theories about how telemetry from a single vehicle will lead to the downfall of civilization. Plenty of other vehicles that don’t transmit anything but probably not many options for brand new cars.

Well, if it requires a glue gun and knife to disconnect an antenna, then no thanks anyway.

As far as funcitoning, why wouldn't it function? Sure. OTA updates would be disabled but TBH Gen 1 OTA updates have been tapering off all year and it's the only vehicle that I've ever owned that even gets OTA updates, so that makes no sense. My. 2014 Ford Expedition has never had an update and runs just fine after 220K miles.

Again, the ideal design would be a simple physical switch to disable all remote transmissions but at this point we'll probably have to settle for a written declaration from Rivian that their privacy settings disable their remote access to the vehicle.

And for the record, the purpose of the thread was simple. Has anyone ever disabled it and can confirm that it actually disables remote data transmisison. No need for anyone to reply with anything but an answer to these simple questions.

 

[Steve A.]

Edit: all this is to say - Rivian's and many/most modern vehicles are probably not the right purchase choice for someone who wants or needs to care about this stuff. Physically disabling the LTE modem is also probably the right path to ensuring no undesired external comms occur.

Well, hoping that the pendulum starts to swing back in the consumer-protection direction as manufacturers like Scout and Slate hopefully succeed w/ their retro and DIY designs. Time will tell.

Looking at previous threads, it doesnt' look like at least the antenna was meant to be disconnected and the TCM is probably embedded in the dash; i.e. probably more trouble than it's worth to physically disconnect it. :-(

 

[Steve A.]

There are plenty of other more recent vehicles that don't report your location in real time. I own 3 other ones.

Again, you shouldn't have to give up your private data when buying ANY product.

Counting down until I trade in my R1S for my Scout Terra; hopefully, it will be much easier to disable the antenna in a Scout vehicle.

 

[HaveBlue]

You could locate the Telematics module and disconnect the cellular antenna connector. Even better would be to put a terminator on it.

Yes the esim card is soldered to the main board in the telematics module. It can be desoldered and a normal slot be soldered in. Then a sim of your choice and compatibility can also be installed. This would be the Gen1 anyway. The telematics unit on the R1T is behind/above the seatback in the second row. Not sure where it is on the R1S.

 

[HaveBlue]

Well, I'll probably follow up with the SC to see if they would even disble the TCM or disconnect the cellular antenna, but if not I may ask for a written confirmation that Rivian cannot remotely access my R1S with the remote settings disabled.

That said, after researching some other threads here related to getting to the shark fin antenna, it doesn't sound like it's meant to be accessed easily and involves a glue gun and knife; see the following thread for details:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/shark-fin-antenna-replacement-r1s.35941/post-666201

You may burn up the finals amp if you disconnect the antenna without a resistor or something.

 

[Steve A.]

Yes the esim card is soldered to the main board in the telematics module. It can be desoldered and a normal slot be soldered in. Then a sim of your choice and compatibility can also be installed. This would be the Gen1 anyway. The telematics unit on the R1T is behind/above the seatback in the second row. Not sure where it is on the R1S.

Thank you! Very helpful!

 

[usulio]

If you carry cell phone, use a credit card, go out in public you have no privacy.

Always funny to me when people say this like it's supposed to be a good thing. It's not. It's bad. Yet when people like Steve here try to push for EVERYONE's right to more privacy and security, who gets criticized? Somehow, him, not the company collecting all your location data and leaking it all over the place (according to the post above).

 

[Zoidz]

You may burn up the finals amp if you disconnect the antenna without a resistor or something.

That's why I mentioned in my post above that connecting a terminator was best if you disconnect the antenna.

 

[Steve A.]

Always funny to me when people say this like it's supposed to be a good thing. It's not. It's bad. Yet when people like Steve here try to push for EVERYONE's right to more privacy and security, who gets criticized? Somehow, him, not the company collecting all your location data and leaking it all over the place (according to the post above).

Reminds me of a few quotes...

"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." - Tolstoy

"All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

"The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." - Orwell

 

[COdogman]

Always funny to me when people say this like it's supposed to be a good thing. It's not. It's bad. Yet when people like Steve here try to push for EVERYONE's right to more privacy and security, who gets criticized? Somehow, him, not the company collecting all your location data and leaking it all over the place (according to the post above).

I definitely appreciate @Steve A. and his intentions. I wish everyone paid more attention to this in general. And it feels like people have basically given up this fight because we like the convenience of our devices more than we care about our privacy. I am guilty of this too. It just feels like the battle was lost long ago.

I think if there is a criticism here, it’s simply that Rivian has a data and privacy policy that we can all read before purchasing or leasing. So there is a RTFM aspect to this. If you didn’t like their policy then don’t get a Rivian. Or at least don’t act surprised after the fact.

I am also curious as he tries to disconnect his Rivian if it works as they describe and if not, why? And why isn’t it easier?

Vehicles are some of the worst for data privacy so rankings for this are more like bad to worst, but Rivian was ranked as one of the better automakers for data privacy in the latest Privacy4Cars rankings. They used the CA privacy law as a benchmark.
1. Honda/ Acura
2. Subaru
3. Rivian, Polestar

In 2023 Mozilla did a ranking but Rivian wasn’t included. Tesla is at or near the bottom in all rankings I have seen.

 

[EV Sportline]

@EV Sportline may have some insight here, its fairly likely that the Rivian’s modified for 1st responders may well have required either to have changed to firstnet or had the eSIM disabled.

I missed the question? What are we asking?

FYI all our upfits are 'in cahoots' with Rivian, we have not needed to disable things - But ask me what you need specifically and I can certainly take a look and see what is possible.

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