If you’re an OnStar subscriber, you may have recently received an email regarding an update to the terms and conditions of your subscription and service. In it, you’ll find an interesting tidbit that allows them to determine and collect your GPS location as well as your speed “for any purpose, at any time, provided that following collection of such location and speed information identifiable to your vehicle, it is shared only on an anonymized basis.” It goes on to say that they may be allowed to sell the information to third parties and law enforcement agencies. This is unsettling to many, and it’s caught the attention of people on Usenet.
Be careful. The new terms and conditions say that even if you cancel your subscription, they may continue to collect your data and sell it. To prevent this, you’ll have to shut down their data connection to your car after you cancel your service.
Even though the terms and condition say that your data will remain anonymized, it’s still drew the ire of many who have become aware of this. With GPS tracking you to where you live, anonymized suddenly doesn’t seem so anonymous.
Usenet is an open forum in which users from around the world discuss various topics of importance. It’s divided into hierarchies for organization, making it simpler to find newsgroups discussing topics that interest you.
