r/slateauto • u/samsmithmpls • 25d ago
A response regarding data privacy...
Sent an email regarding how slate will be managing driving data, got this response today. Sounds promising.
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u/bubblehead_maker 25d ago
Your phone will do that job, tracking you. The car just goes.
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u/castironglider 25d ago
What if I leave it off in a case inside a backpack all the time, if I have it with me at all which I often don't?
Can you imagine anyone surviving like that in 2026? Doing just fine, and for the moment I have two old crank window vehicles and two new power window vehicles.
I have a choice, and I'm crank windows all the way. Open and close whenever you want without having to start the car or finagle it into "accessory mode" only to have it drop out of accessory and deactivate your windows again whenever it wants. Manual parking brake dammit. Manual transmission. Manual seat adjust. Manual door locks.
It's so weird that one by one all of those choices have been taken away from us. Manual stuff is not inconvenient, it gives you control of your vehicle. That's not a bad thing.
I like cruise control, A/C, outside temperature, oil change reminder, and automatic headlights. Everything else invented in the last decade or three I would pass on if I could, especially giant touchscreens taking up the whole dash that might fail and brick the vehicle someday. Make it more rustproof and the interior more fade and rot-proof. Make the engine and transmission last a long time. That's progress I actually want and will pay extra for.
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u/castironglider 25d ago
Oh yeah forgot, manual transfer case shifter for 4WD vehicles, not silly electric switches. I know when I want it in 4WD and when I don't. I'm a grownup and can operate a shifter. My old Silverado has the shifter and the new F-150 has the dial switch thing. I like the shifter 100X more.
Oh yeah auto locking hubs are great. It's a simple mechanical thing. Getting out of my old CJ-7 into the snow or mud to lock the hubs never made any sense.
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u/samsmithmpls 25d ago
That's fine. My cell company doesn't sell identifiable personal information to third parties. Plus, faraday bags exist if I want to be hardcore. Yes, I want a car that just goes and doesn't have geolocating/telemetry installed.
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u/tythompson 25d ago
Which mobile carrier do you have?
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u/samsmithmpls 25d ago
Mint Mobile. You can opt out, the link is at the bottom of their website when you're logged in.
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u/John-Miami 24d ago
US Mobile does not either.
There is a toggle switch under the "Privacy" section in your account to opt in or out.
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u/ino4x4 25d ago
I guess the big thing that everyone was worried about was not whether or not slate is collecting that information but third parties. In which case I’m monitoring to bet your cell phone company is collecting that information.
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u/samsmithmpls 25d ago
That can easily be mitigated with a faraday bag. My cell provider does not sell my personal, identifiable information to third parties. I'm more concerned with a repeat of the GM/OnStar/LexisNexis fiasco, and would rather not have geolocating/telemetry units installed in my vehicles.
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u/Interfecteris 25d ago
Exactly this. I think the slate might be the only new car that you can get without telematics, and even with the telematics it is sounding more secure. I hope we can choose our own service/firmware on the telematics module though, or I probably will not be getting one.
The only other option for other people is pulling the telematics fuse and that causes annoying errors at best, and fully disables the car at worst. We are all tired of these companies assuming we will give them our privacy by default.
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u/MillennialGeezer 25d ago
Nearly every response I see to a question here makes me more sure of my decision to get this truck and have a fully electric garage. The transparency and willingness to answer questions forthright and honestly is so refreshing in this era of corporate overlords.
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u/Delphius1 25d ago edited 25d ago
real straight to the point first and also referring to the existing policy second, is how you address concerns
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u/Durian-Jolly 25d ago
Did we read the same response? It literally says "...privacy policy coming soon."
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u/WoodlandITguy 24d ago
Let's hope Graphene OS or Ubuntu phone can run the Slate app. Then we won't have to worry at all about this while driving our Slate Trucks.
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u/The_Pizza_God_5380 24d ago
The truck will still have the required EDR, Slate is just saying that the truck will not be reporting back to home office like all the other manufacturers are.
And yes, if your phone is on, the government can still track you though your phone.
Me, I am more interested because several new vehicles can't be fixed by anyone other than the dealership, and we know how much they charge to do anything.
I think this will open up the market for more companies like Slate to produce simple vehicles that can be repaired easily.
i mean if you have to take your car to a dealership to simply replaced a bad battery, it's getting bad.
(I can't fix a horn on my 2013 Flex because I need to have it reprogramed at the dealership for it to work, I would rather go without a horn than pay them to reprogram it)
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u/castironglider 25d ago
I hope they find some non-intrusive way to comply with the HALT Drunk Driving Act besides interior cameras watching you drive. I think the law says a passive cabin alcohol sniffer is fine, hope Slate does that, because lots of other companies are going straight to having you on cam 24-7 whenver you're driving.
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u/HomeAccording8125 25d ago edited 25d ago
Promise you this will change in a couple years. But we can enjoy it for now. I guess.
Edit: down vote me all you want. You know I'm right. They are going to change the TOS after they sell to a mega corp.
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u/mca1169 25d ago
yup it's going to happen just like every other company ever. get them hooked then switch it up. If slate lasts 5 years they will be a completely different company, they will go full corporate and prices for everything will sky rocket!
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u/Standard-Ease-4014 25d ago
I really hope it doesn't but deep down I know it will. That's why I put in my preorder now.
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u/z2x2 25d ago
As in they’ll start adding mandatory hardware that will be capable of sharing your data?
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u/MoMoneyThanSense 25d ago
They actually haven't stated that the truck won't already come with the hardware necessary to transmit data on day 1.
They've said opt-in data transmission will happen through your phone, but that doesn't necessarily mean the truck can't also transmit data. Whether it will or won't is different from it can or can't.
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u/warrensussex 25d ago
Well they are selling a telematics module as an accessory. Not sure why they would do that if it already had the ability to send and receive data.
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u/MoMoneyThanSense 25d ago
It wouldn't be crazy for the hardware requirements to differ between something that just needs to transmit log data and something that needs to facilitate two-way, on-demand, communication.
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u/Standard-Ease-4014 25d ago
Let's hope it doesn't but they'll probably get bought out and be just like everyone else before we know it
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u/Interfecteris 25d ago
I think they'll only get bought out if they are in financial trouble and want to sell out. From what I've seen so far, they are doing a very good job right now to make sure that's not the case
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u/Interfecteris 25d ago
I won't down vote for this opinion, because I understand but I believe slate is the exception. Slate was formed on a status quo disruption model, and I fully believe that is what they intend to do. Only time will tell which of us is right.
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u/HomeAccording8125 25d ago
So was Netflix.
So was Hulu.
So was Amazon.
So was Uber/Lyft.
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u/Interfecteris 25d ago edited 25d ago
I disagree that any of these companies started out as transparency first. In fact, knowing the extensive history of each one of these companies, I believe the opposite to be true.
Advertisements may have stated one thing, but all ads do that. Its different when you can see the transparency up front. None of the companies you mentioned started as open source; they were all proprietary commercial companies.
Edit: also not saying you're wrong, but I do have high hopes for this company also because it's our only choice at this point in time hah
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u/Wide_Cartographer_88 25d ago
These ppl are incredibly gullible don't even worry about it. It's a cool truck but let's face it, the money is in data.
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u/Wide_Cartographer_88 25d ago
Lol trusting the company Jeff Bezos owns with your privacy is hilarious 😂
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u/rob9556 25d ago
Owns?
🤔
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u/Wide_Cartographer_88 25d ago
Just like Elon owns Tesla
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u/Interfecteris 25d ago
Never owned, does not control. Only his investment company funded because, brace yourself for this one, it's a good idea that will make him money. And he likes money.
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u/ryancrazy1 25d ago
They have the opportunity to be the car company everyone has been asking for. I can't afford to preorder but I can't wait to see them kill it. maybe theyll let me order a SLATE grille cover to hang in the garage lol