Pulling Telematics Modem Fuse 20 under dash

[bobogto]

Yeah, most people could care less about privacy and for those who consider privacy, most see it as too much of an effort or not working well. It depends what your goals are. Social media kills you and I don't use it (except for one fake/anonymous Twitter/X account to check things out - never post). Many are addicted to social media. If you Google my name and address nothing (zero, zip, nada) comes up. I admit I am on an the extreme, but for me it is a hobby and fun. Kind of like shooting for that perfect credit score. Does not really matter, but some have fun with it.

Do you know it's legal for anyone to fly over with anything and look into your backyard, take pictures of anything in your back yard?
I admire you, but I go to an extend. Like unplugging the modem. That's about it. I use a VPN on my PC, that's about it. The lengths that all these companies and government have went over the years is just mindboggling. And it has slipped right passed everyone. At this point you are fighting laws that demand you show them everything and tell them everything and be jailed if you don't. I bet you it's a matter of time unplugging your GPS or modem in your vehicle would be outlawed.
Like I said. Keep fighting. I admire it. But I believe it's a lost battle at this point, because most people don't care.

I remember a funny episode of Alaska state troopers. An old timer get's pulled over in the middle of nowhere. Drunk. Officer asking for his drivers license. Guy says I don't have it. Officer says well where is it. Guy responds... Never had one.

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[CalvinT]

Do you know it's legal for anyone to fly over with anything and look into your backyard, take pictures of anything in your back yard?

There was an episode on the TV show Live PD: Police Patrol out of Nye County, Nevada. A guy was complaining about his neigbor flying a drone over his property. Sheriff deputy talked to the neighbor who said they wouldn't do it any more. In closing comments for the show the deputy said that later the guy shot down the drone. So end of problem. But this also took place in a very rural area. People had several acre lots.

 

[swamp2]

Seems like a reasonable thread in which to repost this tip.

I'm 95% certain many of the Connected Vehicle "features" which I disabled, got automatically turned back on.

This includes the "go ahead and report everything to everyone" kind of crap. I don't have the menus memorized, but I think you must (and I reluctantly have) enabled the first two options in that section as they are required for the Ford Pass app to work and I do like and use some of its features. It was the remaining 4 or so options in that list/menu that got turned back on (the much more concerning ones).

Not sure if it was a dealer visit, a battery disconnect or software update that did this nasty thing. I've found a couple other things also get re-enabled after things like this as well. Two examples are, the reverse proximity alarm (wrong/non-Ford jargon - but should be an adequately accurate description) and the pre collision alarm/assist.

 

[Derby]

Ok, so I pulled the glove box down reached in and disconnected the plug facing the rear of the vehicle. What about the plug that is in the bottom? Or did I unplug the wrong plug?

 

[Just Rob Please]

@thepear Thank you for your solution. I've had my Bronc for a little over 2 years and can't believe it took me this long to do this. Changed my cabin filter at the same time. Took 3 minutes.

Just to chime in on the privacy things, and to what @bobogto stated, I too am a privacy advocate and have the blessed opportunity to talk about it professionally from the lectern of a college classroom. What I've seen professionally and now academically is what some of the others in this thread also see. I've been a GrapheneOS phone users for 3 years and it's life changing. My TV doesn't use me as a product, we don't use Ring or Google cameras, the cloud is understood as just one hair below public. To those that have 'just went with it' for years, it is understandable to think there's no point in fighting it. But for me, I've seen this from the start and haven't always made the best decisions. As a technologist, I have been excited about tech and happy to adopt it, train people on it, help corporations use it, only to look back and see the big picture. Before I bought my Wildtrak, I was going to buy a base with 'steelies' and build it the way I wanted it at a local shop. I wanted a no-tech capable off roader that I could outfit as I saw fit. But even the base has a module, proven by a YouTuber that showed you could remote start a base unit with the Ford phone app. That proved it to me - the connectivity is in all models and would require me to perform a work around. Now that I've done it and see how it doesn't impair anything that I use (GPS, BT, no trouble lights, etc), I don't see why anyone wouldn't do it. It isn't like Ford is sending you a check for using / selling your data. This Bronco wasn't $20,000 less than a comparable Jeep.

I hope for those who think myself and others in this thread are wearing a tin foil hat, that you would take a step back and see how your privacy has evaporated in this world and be concerned enough to take at least one step toward making your life a little more private. Doing this simple and reversible step to your Bronco is one way. If you want to know of others, just hop on youtube and search for Naomi Brockwell TV. She breaks things down perfectly for skeptics and gives you methods that you can use to start making steps.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Seems like a reasonable thread in which to repost this tip.

I'm 95% certain many of the Connected Vehicle "features" which I disabled, got automatically turned back on.

This includes the "go ahead and report everything to everyone" kind of crap. I don't have the menus memorized, but I think you must (and I reluctantly have) enabled the first two options in that section as they are required for the Ford Pass app to work and I do like and use some of its features. It was the remaining 4 or so options in that list/menu that got turned back on (the much more concerning ones).

Not sure if it was a dealer visit, a battery disconnect or software update that did this nasty thing. I've found a couple other things also get re-enabled after things like this as well. Two examples are, the reverse proximity alarm (wrong/non-Ford jargon - but should be an adequately accurate description) and the pre collision alarm/assist.

Need to disconnect all the antennas as well pretty sure it's only legal to sell data if it's not identifiable to any person etc and that means vin so I wouldn't worry about in except some states have exceptions and in Canada where the default on all data anywhere is "opt in", or on case of fatal crash.

 

[Cav427]

Thank you. Pulling fuse 20 did not work for me. I think fuse #20 is not a live circuit put in to give people a false sense of "security" when you pull the fuse. Why did I disconnect it? I bought the vehicle as a customer. I do not want the data vampires sucking my soul out of my body, my life, my data, my privacy. The excuse that the car will call 911 is a joke, it still uses my phone. "For my safety"? They don't need to track my travels.

 

[Dmorty217]

So did we figure this out or is it a forscan issue

 

[DarthLincoln]

This looks like a market for potential Slate sales

https://www.mobilityengineeringtech...cy-back-to-driving?oly_enc_id=4357D1949023E1Y

The [Slate] electric vehicles do not have a modem. It can't phone home to share your location or driving style. For the startup, a modem is just another additional expense that adds cost to the end product. If people want to be connected, they have a smartphone.

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