zlacker

I can tell you that I have a pretty good idea that the application software and operating system on my phone isn't listening to me all the time. I have a pretty good idea that the permissions controls (capabilities) do what they say. This is because I run libre Graphene OS on my phone, rather than a proprietary Android.

(I cannot prove that the baseband chipset/software is betraying me by listening all the time. The point is you have to dig through most of the layers of avoidable surveillance to focus on the real technical flaws)

> every couples of months out comes some news about how you car was tracking you all these years.

Please try not to take this too personally, but this is the effect I'm talking about where it feels like all this complexity gets bundled into learned helplessness. Does your car have a cell modem? It so, "it is" tracking your location - meaning the cell provider(s) are obtaining your location, and most likely selling it to the surveillance industry, in addition to whatever your car manufacturer is doing. If you want to be assured that it's not, remove the cell modem or buy an older car without built in surveillance.

(I'm certainly not putting forth self-help options as a substitute for needed overarching privacy legislation like the EU's GDPR. They're both independent topics worthy of discussion)