4G Modem Disabling Instructions:

[drummerboy]

Thanks, for the info, this is going to the top of my mods list...
I have a friend who started a business helping people identify intrusive RF signals in their home as it has been associated with all kinds of health issues. Here we are in America pushing 5g while Europe and other countries are pulling it out of schools and other public places. I personally do not want additional RF signals penetrating my body and brain as I take a two day cross country trip. If I need wifi for something I will temp enable a hot spot on my phone.
By the way, for those who don't know, you can download music, gps routes, etc to your phone and turn off wifi/data if you want to take a break from it. We all survived in the past without it.... now it's being pushed like its a "NEED"
I work in IT and I hate all of the wifi, bluetooth, RF signals that are flowing through the air....
and don't get me started about electronics in simple appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, etc...

Absolutely! I'd love to share my findings from my own RF meter: I tested dozens of 'usual' devices, and I can say with complete confidence that the data connection on a mobile phone, when in close proximity to the body (in a pocket, held to the ear), is 99% of an average individuals exposure. Its transmission is so strong that it absolutely dwarfs everything else, at least 1-2 orders of magnitude stronger than being 100ft away from a cell tower even. I'm sure you and your friend are aware of the brain and breast tumors that are being attributed to smart phones. Since most people don't have an RF meter, I can offer one simple way to significantly reduce your risk: Do NOT hold your phone to your head or keep it in your pocket if you have 1) mobile data and/or 2) advanced calling turned on. With those two turned off, I still use speakerphone. But with those two features on, every single phone I tested at close range (in contact with the body) emits what appears to me to be a higher level of RF than what is allowed by law, and at least 100x more than other every day household tech I tested.

I agree that limiting your exposure wherever you can is a good thing, we don't need to be bathed in RFR all day long. And I think most people can feel a little more at ease by just being aware that close proximity to the phone's data connection is by far our largest point of exposure.

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[16Kobra]

and don't get me started about electronics in simple appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, etc...

I am with you on the appliances, why do I need my frig to tell me I am out of eggs? and make me a shopping list??

 

[honeybadger]

They are not trying to read thoughts, but instead collect your private data. I dont believe in a lot of these class action lawsuits, but this is theft IMHO. I never agreed to let Ford monitor my car and take my data.

As tech continues to evolve, it seems our privacy continues to erode. Be honest, how many people had no clue that Ford was doing this? Just for that reason, I'm pulling the plug on the mobile spyware that our cars have built into them.

Tom, I'm just teasing and that's the closest GIF I could find. I work in a very related industry and am fairly familiar with what is being collected. Personally, I love the connectivity--it's enabling and going to enable incredibly useful new experiences.

But I personally push for much stronger regulation in how its used, shared, stored, etc. For me, that's far more important than it being collected. There's no way to stop the data collection - it's a necessity. But there are tons of secure ways of doing it and if we don't regulate it, companies will abuse it no doubt.

On a related note, folks need to be a lot more concerned with the fancy phone in their pocket and Facebook. Don't event get me started on Facebook. Everyone is talking about what ifs in this thread--but it's already happened on Facebook. And no one gives less of a shit about data security, ethics, etc. than Facebook leadership.

 

[el-guapin]

...... On a related note, folks need to be a lot more concerned with the fancy phone in their pocket and Facebook. Don't event get me started on Facebook. Everyone is talking about what ifs in this thread--but it's already happened on Facebook. And no one gives less of a shit about data security, ethics, etc. than Facebook leadership.

This^^^ Far more reaching implications than anything else out there!

 

[Tomster]

Tom, I'm just teasing and that's the closest GIF I could find. I work in a very related industry and am fairly familiar with what is being collected. Personally, I love the connectivity--it's enabling and going to enable incredibly useful new experiences.

But I personally push for much stronger regulation in how its used, shared, stored, etc. For me, that's far more important than it being collected. There's no way to stop the data collection - it's a necessity. But there are tons of secure ways of doing it and if we don't regulate it, companies will abuse it no doubt.

On a related note, folks need to be a lot more concerned with the fancy phone in their pocket and Facebook. Don't event get me started on Facebook. Everyone is talking about what ifs in this thread--but it's already happened on Facebook. And no one gives less of a shit about data security, ethics, etc. than Facebook leadership.

My thoughts exactly. Give us the bells and whistles and have very strict data collection guidelines that are de-identified.

 

[Scoobs]

Has anyone checked to see what type of data this website is sending back to the "mothership", or what type of data that is being scraped ?

 

[Tomster]

Has anyone checked to see what type of data this website is sending back to the "mothership", or what type of data that is being scraped ?

its in the privacy policy I posted in the GT500 section

 

[Bikeman315]

Has anyone checked to see what type of data this website is sending back to the "mothership", or what type of data that is being scraped ?

This is what i find so humorous. Everyone is so worried about the small amounts of data collected by Ford (or any carmaker) but not about what is collected on the internet. Or your bank credit cards, finance companies, and on and on and on. I remember when EZPass first started, people were so afraid of getting speeding tickets. Never happened.

We live in a world that is constantly monitoring virtually everything all the time. You think by pulling a fuse you are really accomplishing anything? Ask any security expert about this. If pulling the fuse makes you feel better, by all means. But do not actually think you are accomplishing anything.

 

[drummerboy]

This is what i find so humorous. Everyone is so worried about the small amounts of data collected by Ford (or any carmaker) but not about what is collected on the internet. Or your bank credit cards, finance companies, and on and on and on. I remember when EZPass first started, people were so afraid of getting speeding tickets. Never happened.

We live in a world that is constantly monitoring virtually everything all the time. You think by pulling a fuse you are really accomplishing anything? Ask any security expert about this. If pulling the fuse makes you feel better, by all means. But do not actually think you are accomplishing anything.

If you have your credit card in your pocket while you're at a track event, does your insurance carrier increase your premium? Can a hacker get access to your car through your EZPass? Each item on your list is a separate issue, they don't all do the same thing.

I don't think you read the epilogue of my OP. I understand it was a long read, but go check out that last paragraph. Each of your above mentioned issues can also be dealt with individually, this fuse being by far the easiest.

As for what I accomplished with this? Getting rid of something I don't use. YMMV.

 

[drummerboy]

Has anyone checked to see what type of data this website is sending back to the "mothership", or what type of data that is being scraped ?

You wouldn't know for sure unless you could bypass the encryption and then also know how to read the data. I think it's safe to say that stuff like vehicle health, sensor status, location, speed, etc are all included. Data is valuable to them, I'm sure the more the merrier.

 

[Bikeman315]

If you have your credit card in your pocket while you're at a track event, does your insurance carrier increase your premium? Can a hacker get access to your car through your EZPass? Each item on your list is a separate issue, they don't all do the same thing.

I don't think you read the epilogue of my OP. I understand it was a long read, but go check out that last paragraph. Each of your above mentioned issues can also be dealt with individually, this fuse being by far the easiest.

As for what I accomplished with this? Getting rid of something I don't use. YMMV.

I did read your entire post and it is excellent. My point was that we are obsessing over this and there are so many other ways that your personal data can be accessed.

By the way hacking into your car has nothing to do with the 4G modem. But I get the general point.

A question though. Has anyone actually gotten an insurance rate increase due to tracking their car? I'm not sure how this could happen unless Jake is at the track with you.

How We Share Information: We do not provide personal information obtained through FordPass to anyone for independent use without providing you a choice.

 

[honeybadger]

I did read your entire post and it is excellent. My point was that we are obsessing over this and there are so many other ways that your personal data can be accessed.

By the way hacking into your car has nothing to do with the 4G modem. But I get the general point.

A question though. Has anyone actually gotten an insurance rate increase due to tracking their car? I'm not sure how this could happen unless Jake is at the track with you.

How We Share Information: We do not provide personal information obtained through FordPass to anyone for independent use without providing you a choice.

FWIW, my car is tracked exclusively. Not even driven on the street to get fuel. It's insured in case it's stolen or the house burns down, etc.. My premiums have gone down due to lower than normal mileage.

 

[drummerboy]

I did read your entire post and it is excellent. My point was that we are obsessing over this and there are so many other ways that your personal data can be accessed.

By the way hacking into your car has nothing to do with the 4G modem. But I get the general point.

A question though. Has anyone actually gotten an insurance rate increase due to tracking their car? I'm not sure how this could happen unless Jake is at the track with you.

How We Share Information: We do not provide personal information obtained through FordPass to anyone for independent use without providing you a choice.

I don't think they're obsessing, I think they're thirsting for knowledge - what data are they collecting, how do you disable it, etc. Neither of those points are clear (except now in regards to pulling the fuse).

I agree about the hacking and that the risk there is practically nil, however, I would say to someone concerned with that that the 4G modem definitely presents a way in for a bad actor.

Insurance rate increase due to tracking the car is probably pure speculation. Who knows? It seems a lot of us would like to eliminate is as a possibility though. I would imagine, considering the progression of other tech, that this sort of thing would be happening on the regular in the future even if it may not yet be happening.

In regards to the blue above, several things jump out as suspect:
1) What is their definition of personal information? Just your name? What if they provide the VIN? That's not typically considered personal information, and the insurance company would know right away who that is.
2) Independent use - what's that? Do they provide information to someone as long as it is dependent use?
3) ...providing you a choice - where is that choice? Is it as simple as unchecking a box in the infotainment center? Or is that choice executed by writing to them and explicitly revoking consent? Or do you have to fill out a form?
4) The point is that you can't really take statements like that at face value. Companies like to snake around with their wording all the time. I'm not accusing Ford of snaking around, but they didn't approve that sentence, their legal team did. And those people know how to play with words to eliminate their liability.

 

[drummerboy]

You know, I think above all it would be a lot simpler if we agree that the data they collect is not for our benefit and that they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't make them money somehow. Sure, maybe the increase in $ they expect might only be by collecting data to improve their product offering. But, for me personally, it's a bit of an invasive way to go about that.

 

[Arcadia]

You know, I think above all it would be a lot simpler if we agree that the data they collect is not for our benefit and that they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't make them money somehow. Sure, maybe the increase in $ they expect might only be by collecting data to improve their product offering. But, for me personally, it's a bit of an invasive way to go about that.

Just curious - does anyone have any specific instances where info from this was used against them or resulted in warranty denied? Is it a lot, a little, maybe never happened? Maybe with other car brands or same brand alternatives (like F150 etc..)? Not arguing any of the points just wondering what the scenario was that resulted in this info being acted upon (racing, track, high G, etc..) by Ford.

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