Google Swears Android Auto Isn’t Spying On You (That Much)

The era of railway car computers is upon us , and it ’s a little shivery from a concealment perspective . Look no further thanthe late controversy of how much information Google is collectingabout drivers using Android Auto . We know this much : Google is belike hoard more data than you realise .

The Android Auto strife started witha Motor Trend slice about the 2017 Porsche 911 . The automotive magazine publisher made a perfect claim about the agreement that Google push onto Porsche over its living for Android Auto , the software that lets an Android gadget take over the railcar ’s infotainment system :

sure pieces of information must be pull together and mail back to Mountain View , California . stuff and nonsense like vehicle speed , throttle spot , coolant and oil temperature , engine rev – basically Google desire a consummate OBD2 [ on - board nosology ] dump whenever someone activates Android Auto .

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Apple , by way of thoroughgoing contrast , only wants to roll in the hay if the car is moving while Apple Play is in use .

Why would Google need to know about your cable car ’s engine if Android Auto is mainly hypothesise to help you listen to medicine , use function , and places song ? Well , Google directly controvert some of the claims in Motor Trend piece — emphasis on “ some . ” The hunting giantreleased this instruction :

We take privacy very seriously and do not collect the datum the Motor Trend article lay claim such as throttle place , oil temp , and coolant temporary worker . Users opt in to share information with Android Auto that improves their experience , so the system can be hired hand - free when in drive and put up more accurate navigation through the railroad car ’s GPS .

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So based on that instruction , we can surmise that Google is indeed track vehicle speed and engine revs . While you could reckon how speed - tracking could be used for good navigation , you also have to marvel why Google does n’t just rely on the GPS data point like it does when the Android gadget is n’t plugged into a car . Nevertheless , the mix-up play up a grow headache with our information processing system - powered cars and the practice of data collection .

The independent concern , of course , is privacy . If even automotive journalists are confused about how much data Google ’s aggregation through Android Auto , you may bet the mediocre number one wood does n’t have a hint . Is Google collecting data about your driving habit to serve you better ads ? It ’s not a unhinged question , especially sinceGoogle scan every Gmail messagethat passes through its server for the design of ad targeting .

You also have to wonder just how how Android Auto is interact with the railway car ’s key nervous organization , also known as a CAN bus . The idea that Google is keeping an heart on your engine immediately raises some security concern . By rewriting microcode in the machine ’s infotainment organization , ill-famed machine hacker Charlie Miller and Chris Valasekwere able to remotely control a Jeep Cherokee . The vulnerability in the end caused Chrysler to recall 1.4 million vehicles . Since Android securityis historically knotty , does give hacker yet another way to get at the engine a good musical theme ?

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These are n’t necessarily Google - centric questions . Connecting our cars to the internet is generally problematic . However , it ’s manifest that something is up with Android Auto . The software is talk to cars more than Apple CarPlay , and it ’s create some welcome controversy . lease ’s just trust Google answer not just with a statement , but with a change in its data collection policies .

[ Motor Trend , The Guardian ]

figure of speech by Brent Rose

Photo: Jae C. Hong