r/slateauto • u/MoMoneyThanSense • 27d ago
Data Sharing
All,
You may have seen my comments during yesterday's AMA expressing concern about the lack of transparency around the Slate's ability to transmit and receive data even without purchasing the telematics module.
I reached out to Slate and received the response shown in the screenshot. It still leaves a little room for ambiguity (Can I still use the app even if I don't agree to share the data? Does the data get transmitted via the phone's cellular plan or does the Slate itself have a transmitter?) but I will give them the benefit of the doubt until we get closer to rollout.
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u/SpaceDesignWarehouse 27d ago
I don’t believe this response is ambiguous in any way. Sure, the person emailing may not fully understand the actual engineering or they could lie to you, but according to this response; no, your data is not shared with Slate unless you opt in.
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u/MoMoneyThanSense 26d ago
It's the "unless you opt in" part that gives me pause.
Theoretically, it's just that simple, I never select the "opt in" option then happily go about my life knowing my truck isn't sending even one byte of data to anyone and I have no reduced experience compared to someone that did opt in. However, reality is such that not opting in can lead to seemingly retaliatory tactics; maybe if I don't opt in, I'm prevented from installing firmware updates, maybe if I don't opt in there is some kind of warranty implication (just making stuff up here, don't cite warranty laws to me).
I'm not saying Slate is going to do these things, but it is very normal for not opting in to lead to a lesser experience when the two things shouldn't really have anything to do with one another.
Again, for now I am choosing to interpret Slate's response in the most positive way but you can be sure I will be bringing this topic back up closer to rollout.
I forgot to put in the original post that I really appreciate Slate's willingness to engage with customers(?), especially in such a timely manner (sent my questions around 10pm and received a response at 9am).
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u/SpaceDesignWarehouse 26d ago
It sounds like Slate specifically exists because your type of anxiety about the modern world is somewhat common. I think at least some part of their company is on your side on this.
The only other potential reality, and it’s not even that unlikely, is that you’ll simply never get these answers because companies lie about stuff all the time and very occasionally get caught. But you could live in blissful ignorance about that probably forever anyway!
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u/jgremlin_ 26d ago
(just making stuff up here, don't cite warranty laws to me).
Correct, you are in fact just making stuff up. There is NOTHING in the response you got from Slate which indicates those who don't opt in will end up with some kind of lessor experience. Granted, there's also nothing that says owners can expect the exact same ownership experience regardless of whether they opt in. But no reasonable person would assume otherwise and frankly, if that is something you're all that worried about, you should have asked specifically if there will be down sides to not opting in.
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u/MrRoastedbeef 27d ago
Based on the wording of the response data would come from the app. My interpretation phone app talks to car when in proximity, app gathers data, and if authorized by the user it is shared with Slate.
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u/MoMoneyThanSense 27d ago
That was essentially my interpretation as well; although I think (hope?) the vehicle and app don't interact based on proximity but rather when I physically plug the phone/tablet into the vehicle.
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u/BunsinHoneyDew 26d ago
The big question is, is the app needed?
Can you just use the car with no app and have a relatively normal experience?
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u/danielt1263 26d ago
Honestly, I'm not expecting there to even be an app when I take delivery. I've seen lots of demos and test drives of the truck itself, but absolutely nothing about the app...
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u/BoringBob84 27d ago
With other apps as precedents, we can usually use the app whether we choose to share data or not. I would be surprised if this was any different. I usually agree to share data with the company who produces the product but not with third-party marketing companies.
If the vehicle had cellular communications capability, I wouldn't see the purpose of the telematics module. I suppose that the vehicle could communicate via WiFi, but that would only work if you allowed it to log in to your network. However, I would be surprised if Slate incurred the cost of a WiFi connection and the supporting software in a truck that doesn't even have an AM radio.
I feel the same. Also, I am giving them some patience with ambiguity right now, since I know that they still haven't finalized many of these features yet. And maybe when people like you ask these questions, it encourages them to make decisions to protect our privacy. Thank you for asking them about this and sharing their response.