[MichBolt]

OnStar is spying on you and reporting (selling) your bad driving habits to insurance companies. OnStar/Bolt and Privacy Information...

You can opt out of the "Smart Driver" program that collects data about your driving. There are mixed reports whether GM continues to collect and report data if you have opted out.

Thread starter claiming data continues to be collected and reported:

Disable or Opt Out of OnStar tracking

Just received my report from LexisNexis and see that GM has been reporting every trip I made in the Bolt since I purchased it. Data include date, start time, end time, acceleration events, hard brake events, high speed events and distance. Does anyone know how to turn this reporting off?

www.chevybolt.org

Later post from a different member indicating not:

Disable or Opt Out of OnStar tracking

So, State Farm may not use LN, but they likely have access to a lot of the same data directly from DMV and/or Equifax. Their volume is likely high enough to warrant maintaining direct relationships where the smaller companies use broker services to get better pricing. So, adverse info could be...

www.chevybolt.org

 

[BoltEUV]

We're being tracked by our smartphones so does it really matter if your car also tracks you?
What do these numbers mean anyway?

 

[George Knighton]

That's OnStar for you -- they say an app needs data but it has to be THEIR data plan, that's overpriced like ****. No experience with GMnav+ but I can promise you that android auto/apple car play is light years better, you can also integrate A Better Route planner as well if you like and use it for road tripping charging locations/calculations.

When they intentionally design a system to be a cumbersome, expensive, and shitty as possible, I nope out. I only had like 1 month of free onstar with my 22 EUV, they won't be getting a dime from me under any circumstance.

The funny part is for all the money they are scamming off people for data plans and "premium connectivity" you'd think they could build the myChevrolet app that actually works after 7 years. The thing has been a turd since 2016 when I had my Volt.

Fully understand the anti-OnStar diatribes. But just for a moment (don't kill me!!), I'd like to provide an alternative view.

It doesn't seem to me that $200/year for unlimited data is all that expensive. Maybe I have a skewed perspective.

I also have to confess that I have "Premium" OnStar services.

Remember that you don't have emergency notification of a crash situation if you don't have OnStar services. If you bought into the iPhone 14 generation or have a recent iteration of the Apple Watch, you can rely on those. I'd rather be double covered.

I got lost once in the countryside of rural Virginia horse country. Really lost, looking at stone fences and horses.

CarPlay was no use because (surprise!) no Verizon signal and no T-Mobile signal. There was maybe one bar of AT&T Enterprise, but not enough to get the CarPlay map to work.

To my surprise, I was able to speak with OnStar and get directions out of there. I don't think it was because AT&T Enterprise had great service so much as it was more related to the car's cellular modem being able to use more power than the iPhone could use. I didn't see much OnStar cellular signal but it still worked.

CarPlay came back and gave me Maps via the car's cellular signal, several miles before my two phone numbers had signals again.

So...just an alternative view and maybe something to think about if you have these little bits of money to sacrifice.

Remote Start: I'll use that constantly all through the winter months.

The Energy tab's route planning to include charging stops? That's something you might want to use if you're going to travel long distances in a Bolt EV, although of course you have to send the route to Maps.

 

[George Knighton]

One service OnStar has eliminated recently is your ability to make phone calls over the cellular modem.

Your car has a phone number that we used to be able to use to make hands free calls when you wanted, and we can't do that now.

But the phone number still exists and is assigned to you.

 

[gallen]

Thanks. I’m intentionally not using the built in NAV, opting instead for Apple Maps on CarPlay. I’m doing everything I can to not use OnStar. The monthly payment is the same as a fill-up at the gas station.

Can't speak to Apple maps, but Google maps lets you download maps for offline use. If I have no cell service, the GPS works fine altho speech recognition to enter destinations no longer works. [No OnStar data plan here, I agree it's way overpriced]

 

[Papa Smurf]

The one thing you need from OnStar is the connectivity. Then the app on your cell is actually useful.

 

[Sean Nelson]

It doesn't seem to me that $200/year for unlimited data is all that expensive.

Must be nice. Here in Canada they deign to give us all of 2GB of data per month. If I could get unlimited data for $200/year I'd go for it just on the basis that it would save me money over having to pay roaming charges every time I visit the US.

 

[BillyBoltEV]

OnStar is spying on you and reporting (selling) your bad driving habits to insurance companies. OnStar/Bolt and Privacy Information

I have zero interest in OnStar or apps in general. I don't even connect my phone to the car.

I have to go out to my car unplug it and remember to close the charge door.

Get in, start it up and say in my best authoritative voice "F you Chevy and double F you OnStar!"

But I don't know if they can hear me since nothing is hooked to my car.

I'm with you on the data collection. Much to the chagrin of my sales rep - I declined the OnStar services at purchase - and had OnStar deactivate the system. I've turned off location services on the car's screen but it's clear that the car is still phoning home and reporting - who knows what data despite my opting out from the various policies. The MyChevrolet app shows me the vehicle mileage but nothing else. In place it says "Get the complete driving experience - safety, security and seamless connectivity." With a link to enable OnStar. Going to submit a CCPA data request in a couple of weeks to see what been collected.

 

[George Knighton]

Not 100% behind the GPS paranoia. I'd prefer people know where I am.

When you turn off an iPhone, you might notice a warning that the device can still be located even though it is turned off. I might be the wyrd one here, but I'm okay with that.

 

[Sean Nelson]

When you turn off an iPhone, you might notice a warning that the device can still be located even though it is turned off. I might be the wyrd one here, but I'm okay with that.

Do you mean just turn the screen off, or actually power down the phone. 'Cause if the phone is powered down, I can't see how it could be located. Unless Apple phones don't really fully power down, which would be an issue for the battery running down.

 

[EV Trek 37604]

I just noticed in the my chevrolet app that they have extended my free connected services through November of 2027, previously it said it ended December 30, 2022. I think the end date was 5 years from the previous owner’s in service date and it has been switched to my ownership now. That new expiration date is 6 years from the date I completed purchase from the used car dealer.
Update:
It must have been a glitch, now it is back to my December 30,2022 expiration date.. 😞

 

[accelerus]

I just noticed in the my chevrolet app that they have extended my free connected services through November of 2027, previously it said it ended December 30, 2022. I think the end date was 5 years from the previous owner’s in service date and it has been switched to my ownership now. That new expiration date is 6 years from the date I completed purchase from the used car dealer.
Update:
It must have been a glitch, now it is back to my December 30,2022 expiration date.. 😞

I stopped using/trusting the app long long ago, I had it when I got my Volt in 2016, and it's the same broken/buggy piece of software as ever. I only got 1 month of OnStar services (remote start) for buying a brand new 22 EUV in October, thanks for nothing GM. Remote start via app was included for something like 6 years with my Volt, and same for 2023 Bolts, but 22's? 1 month.

The only thing my app can do now is connect to the car and show the the % charge/range, and even that only works 1/2 the time (perfect cell signal for the car and wifi connectivity on the phone) Basically if the word OnStar is part of the conversation, whatever it is will only work sometimes or at random.

 

[George Knighton]

Do you mean just turn the screen off, or actually power down the phone. 'Cause if the phone is powered down, I can't see how it could be located. Unless Apple phones don't really fully power down, which would be an issue for the battery running down.

GPS remains active so that emergency services, theft recovery and "Find My iPhone" works.

Basically if the word OnStar is part of the conversation, whatever it is will only work sometimes or at random.

My experience is a **** of a lot better, for whatever reason, but I don't mind paying for the data and other services.

The biggest complaint will be what we all experience: unavoidable latency due to cellular connections at both ends, and an occasional sign out for unknown reasons.

 

[Sean Nelson]

GPS remains active so that emergency services, theft recovery and "Find My iPhone" works.

Sure, but what if you shut the phone down and power it off? How can GPS work without power?

Example on Android: hold the power/on button down until the "Power Off / Restart" choices appear on the screen, touch "Power Off" to make it the only choice, and touch "Power Off" again to actually shut the phone down and turn off the power.

 

[George Knighton]

Sure, but what if you shut the phone down and power it off? How can GPS work without power?

Apple just doesn't work that way. They want you to be able to find the device if you've lost it, or it's stolen, and they want to be able to find you if emergency services are trying to locate you.

It's still using energy for the satellite connection, even if you've turned it off. It is just what we do.

You can even turn on a Lost Mode for many Apple devices, including the Watch, MacBook and others, which will warn any Apple device coming close that there is a lost device nearby.

 

[EV Trek 37604]

Ok now this is strange, I went to the onStar website and signed in. Now On 3 different pages I get three different dates that it expires..
I guess in a few days I will find out if I lose it on December 30 or not. I know in 2018 they changed the name of Basic to Connected Access.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Apple just doesn't work that way. They want you to be able to find the device if you've lost it, or it's stolen, and they want to be able to find you if emergency services are trying to locate you.

So you literally cannot power off an iPhone? Don't the batteries run down on the inventory sitting in big box warehouses?

Apologies for harping on this, but it just seems really dumb to me.

 

[George Knighton]

So you literally cannot power off an iPhone? Don't the batteries run down on the inventory sitting in big box warehouses?

Apologies for harping on this, but it just seems really dumb to me.

Your iPhone Can Be Tracked Even When It’s Powered Off

www.msn.com

How To Locate Your iPhone, Even If It's Turned Off

Misplacing or losing your iPhone is the worst, but there are ways to find it even when the power's off.

www.huffpost.com

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-find-your-lost-iphone-even-if-its-turned-off-1847834712

🤷‍♂️

Don't know what to say. It's Apple.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Your iPhone Can Be Tracked Even When It’s Powered Off

www.msn.com

That's interesting - it appears to use Bluetooth. I assume that it works similar to air tags in that it relies on other, active phones discovering it and uploading their coordinates rather than using GPS to locate itself and report it via the cellular network. That would consume far less power.

Thanks for those links, I learned something today.

 

[gallen]

Ok now this is strange, I went to the onStar website and signed in. Now On 3 different pages I get three different dates that it expires..

OnStar is brain-dead. I also see different pland/end-date info on my [free] account. For me, with a July 1 2017 purchase date, all the remote functions still work, even vehicle locate, w/out sending $ to GM.