GM's OnStar Family Link – private detective for pennies per day
flickr/sam_churchill
Rolling out now, new Family Link alert system lets you track OnStar vehicles for $3.99 per month.
Planned for a soft rollout in April and June, then across the country, the add-on OnStar feature lets subscribers track vehicle locations via a website, and receive emails and texts based on when tracked vehicles reach certain destinations. Marketed as a way to help parents track their children, GM expects users to inform drivers they are, in fact, being monitored.
Real time updates of vehicle locations on a map, along with timestamps, will prove a strong temptation to adults wishing to track other adults. Privacy issues seem to be lost in the design of this service, surprising since GM received bad publicity last September when accused of listening in on private conversations inside OnStar-equipped vehicles, and tracking vehicle speed and seatbelt compliance. Supposedly, only an OnStar subscriber can gain access to the tracking information.
Poor teenagers
We've really grown into this paranoid nanny state with helicopter parents haven't we? We just HAVE to have a million and a half ways to keep track of our kids.
viper74 on insideline.com
If you can't trust your kid, don't let them out, and don't let them take a car!
yay4saabs on insideline.com
I have three small kids and won't deny that I might one day plant a "chip" on their cars. haha.
nicoletune on endgadget.com
Family dynamics
Got an invitation last week. Should be interesting to try out.
vince730 on endgadget.com
perfect for overprotective parent and suspicious spouses everywhere!
James Montes on endgadget.com
if you don't trust your spouse you shouldn't have married them.
The Voice of Reason on wired.com
Oh you're right, it's much better to think they will betray you at some point and monitor their whereabouts at all times, so just in case or if it does happen you'll be ready! Sounds like you have some very healthy relationships going in your life.
SolipsisticPsychologist on wired.com
Danger, Danger
Things like this are all well and good until someone with nefarious motives gets their hands on it, and that includes abuse by law enforcement agencies and their ilk.
Wikked Tribe on wired.com
If anyone's tech savvy, there's an app on the iPhone app store called uTrackMe for example that uploads your current GPS coords every given interval (say 10 seconds
JamesMallison on endgadget.com
Not even George Orwell thought people would have to actually pay for their own surveillance.
ImmortalSoFar on wired.com
Divorce attorneys must be thrilled at the this announcement.
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