Apps that remotely track and control cars are being weaponized by abusive partners. Car manufacturers have been slow to respond, according to victims and experts.

She stopped responding to him, she said, even though he texted and called her hundreds of times.

Ms. Dowdall, 59, started occasionally seeing a strange new message on the display in her Mercedes, about a location-based service called “mbrace.” The second time it happened, she took a photograph and searched for the name online.

“I realized, oh my God, that’s him tracking me,” Ms. Dowdall said.

      • frickineh@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        11 months ago

        This is why I’m going to drive my 2012 RAV4 until it dies or I die, whichever comes first. I’d love to switch to an EV but unless something drastically changes in the industry, I’m not paying that kind of money for a car company to spy on me. At least my phone does me the courtesy of being fairly cheap while it harvests my data.

      • smort@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        11 months ago

        Huh Mazda isn’t listed. I assume because it wasn’t tested, rather than because it’s so much better than the others

        • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.comEnglish
          4·
          11 months ago

          That’s correct. All models not listed were simply just not evaluated. You cannot trust any of them at this point. Which is just a pure fucking shame.

          I’d personally like to see them do an exhaustive research into all brands… so I can actually strictly buy the one that values me the most.

    • edric@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      Can’t 100% avoid it, but your best bet is getting a base model. It will probably still have some tracking somehow, but it will be the one with the least “tech”.