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Fla Mom's avatar

And now you know why we don't have removable/replaceable batteries anymore. The government gets access to our tracking/communication devices at will, even when they're off.

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Roger Beal's avatar

Your car or truck is also tracking you, and I do not mean merely your location:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/podcast/2023/09/what-does-a-car-need-to-know-about-your-sex-life

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Donna in MO's avatar

I heard an interview on the radio a few months back saying data, and unlockable features (like seat warmers) are going to be charged users extra for using them, and that features like this are going to be the new profit centers for cars. Heard the other day that Rivian is losing $33K per vehicle on the manufacture, and similar losses for many EVs being made. So it's the old 'printer business model' - make no money selling printers, but make bank on the ink.

I have a 13 YO car and trying to figure out what year all this started as I am considering replacing it but DO NOT want a new car with all the spy tech built in. Wishing at this point I had gone to mechanic school instead of college.

Also this is laying the groundwork for the per mile tax, which is going to switch from gas tax as the primary road funding revenue source, to charging you for each mile you drive. And the pandora's box that whole scheme opens up.....

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St. Alia the Knife's avatar

There is a big Trojan Horse movement here in the soviet republic of Washington State to transition from a gas tax or just add a per mile tax because the gas tax is constitutionally linked to roadways and transportation but a per mile tax would have no such strictures and would likely just end up in the general fund. If Washingtonians think roads are bad now (and they are, especially in Seattle) just wait until the bespoke funding goes away.

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Donna in MO's avatar

Kind of like in MO where the lottery money was earmarked for education. It still is but they have cut back education funding from the general revenue budget since lottery $ began flowing.. It's a shell game, but then again, per pupil spending has gone up every year as have the number of administrators and consultants. The more they have the more they waste, at all levels of government.

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Sharon Beautiful Evening's avatar

All governments know is how to TAX and SPEND. The corruption is everywhere. I keep remembering what the Pharisees in the Bible tried to "trick" Jesus about how should believers handle "governance" - and He said ''Render until Caesar that which is Caesar's (money) and to God that which is God's" (your love and trust).

Money is only a tool that we need while here on earth--the past 3 years, I have learned more and more that which is ETERNAL is so much more important than TEMPORAL trappings.

I am clinging to the ROCK who is higher than I am!!

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Susan Banks's avatar

Amen!!! Great truths!! I’m so sick of it too!!

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Sharon Beautiful Evening's avatar

It's good that we're "sick" of their corruption--proves we have the HOLY Spirit within us, Susan--right?

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char's avatar

Donna in MO-- 13 year old car. same .Please share what you know. TY

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Donna in MO's avatar

I don't know anything other than I can't afford to replace it right now. Nothing I want is affordable with my current car fund, and we don't do debt. Nothing is wrong with my current car other than its age, historically they start nickel and diming you at this point, and knock on wood, hasn't yet. So just casually looking, no serious effort yet, car buying is such a PITA I keep putting it off.

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char's avatar

Agree

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The Great Santini's avatar

Wonder how they collect the sex life data. I mean your car knows where it’s been. But how does it know what you’re doing? And how does it know who you are doing whatever with? Assuming, of course, that you don’t do it in the car.

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Roger Beal's avatar

I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet your smart phone is scanned when, "for convenience", you link it to your car's audio system. Like a leetle birdie, TPTB just follow the trail of crumbs you left in your call/message/browsing history ....

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SadieJay's avatar

We just bought a new car and they let us know that when it comes in for service they will clear the cache and cookies. Hubs wants a jeep like Radars. And I want one too!!

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Roger Beal's avatar

Something roughly pre-1990, utilitarian, heavy-duty: That's what I'm agonna park in our garage, alongside a small inventory of spare parts. Get 'em while they're still affordable ... at the rate Pete Buttgiggles is attacking ICE vehicles and those dastardly oil companies, soon a decent older car will cost more than a new Caddy!

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SadieJay's avatar

That's right....and you can actually get an old rig working by yourself. Older is definitely better, seems to be so with rigs and quality people as well.

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Roger Beal's avatar

Geezer Power!

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Sharon Beautiful Evening's avatar

LOVE that moniker, 47! Better than "old fart"--LOL!

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Kim D's avatar

The prices of older pre-computer chip vehicles has soared in recent years. Happily we still have the 64 Chevelle SS Malibu my husband bought when he was 17.

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Sharon Beautiful Evening's avatar

Loved that buggy--anyone here have a '64 GTO (we used to all them a "Goat" back in the day).

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LS Woodruff's avatar

Back in the late 90's we had a 1980 F250, crew cab, that was a tank. My husband could fix anything on it. Of course it was three different colors and back fired occasionally. We called it the Green Beast. Sadly we sold it when we had an overseas move. What we wouldn't give to have that Green Beast back!!

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Skeptical Actuary's avatar

That's what you need if you are worried about an EMP event. I'm a little worried about it, but haven't got an old beast yet.

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St. Alia the Knife's avatar

One other thing is that the batteries hold a charge much longer if the vehicle sits. My 2019 Asian import work van can't go much more than a week or it will need to be jumped!

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Elizabeth D.'s avatar

Seems we’ll really be looking like Cuba in just a short time. Everyone going back to driving cars from the 1980’s or such. Self censoring down to the cars we drive. See the control? The government knows how to keep its claws on you. But hey, I love old cars too.

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Dawn B's avatar

If you connect your phone to it, they know a lot...

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Nikki (Gayle) Nicholson's avatar

smart cars have cameras

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The Great Santini's avatar

Yeah, but do the cars sneak up to the house and look into windows?

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The Great Santini's avatar

OK don’t do anything in the car or near the car that you’d be embarrassed to be public. Unless, you’re Hunter Biden. If you’re Hunter nothing is off the table.

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Nikki (Gayle) Nicholson's avatar

wow that is mind blowing, just when I thought it wasn't possible to blow my mind anymore.

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¡Andrew the Great!'s avatar

That malwarebytes article was beneath their generally good reporting standards. The clickbait about "your sex life" was in fact a reference ONLY to information a carmaker might learn via direct verbal conversations with someone. The car is not somehow surreptitiously capturing sex life detail. I was disappointed in MWB for that particular article.

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Sophia's avatar

I didn't know about this. (I still have a dumb phone.)

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Natalie's avatar

I have a Light Phone II, which is also a dumb phone. I asked the company if I can be tracked, and they said that the FCC requires all devices to have a GPS chip "for emergency services location."

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Sophia's avatar

Creepy.

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Novaxforme's avatar

For our own good of course!

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Peter GL's avatar

a boss I had wanted only his old style flip phone. Just to make and receive calls - no "smart" features. He was ahead of the times

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FourWinds's avatar

I have a dumb phone. It does talk and text.... well, it also plays Snake. Nothing else. Love it!

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Fla Mom's avatar

A friend whose brother works in some aspect of intelligence (military, maybe) said he only has a flip phone for better security and less tracking.

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FourWinds's avatar

I suspect the non-removable battery is more about making money than anything else. If a phone battery can't be replaced when it inevitably dies, the person has to buy a new phone. That's called brilliant (sarcasm) product design - repeat customers guaranteed. Of course it's not cool at all.

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Fla Mom's avatar

Multi-purpose, then, perhaps with Big Tech and Big Gov't collaborating. Certainly the 'subscription model' has become de rigeur for all sorts of things, now even with "vaccines."

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Susan Banks's avatar

And the new I phone 15 just came out at a whopping 1500.00!!!

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Skeptical Actuary's avatar

Iphone batteries can be replaced. You just have to have a LOT of know how or take it to a professional and pay $100 or so for the replacement.

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Heterodox Introvert's avatar

Look for small independent tech shops. Or a solopreneur geek. I had a battery replaced for around $40, labor included. I get your point, though.

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FourWinds's avatar

I had heard something similar, but thanks for clarifying. Still, that's nuts. If I want my dumb phone battery replaced, I buy one, open the back cover and replace it. I think Apple wants people to just buy new stuff by making it difficult, time consuming and expensive to replace the batteries. So many people are too lazy to try.

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Skeptical Actuary's avatar

Get a cheap faraday cage. A metal popcorn tin ought to work well.

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SheThinksLiberty's avatar

Fla Mom, I still have my battery-replaceable phone. Should I take the battery out today? Will that do the trick, as it were?

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LS Woodruff's avatar

Removing the battery should do the trick!

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CindyLou's avatar

I have a nondescript smartphone that I wiped and installed a "de-googled" android OS to. LineageOS. I disabled emergency alerts, and while phones around me got the FEMA test alert, mine did not. I doubt that it is tracking-free, but at least it is greatly reduced.

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