This feature is mandatory in all new cars sold in the European Union since 2024
this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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Privacy
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I bought a new car from 2023, looks like I really dodged a bullet.
Its just insane how used we are now to being on camera everywhere. Even in our own cars???
Check for a cam anyway.
All new 2027 cars in the US also
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Yep, creepy, and point about the laptop camera is often invalid because depending on the model some laptops have a hardwired switch or cover for exactly this reason. Also usually have a light to tell you it's on, and aren't constantly in use.
And they don't pester you if you cover the camera either, and you have more control on whether they're online too.
I mean I would like a dashcam that records front, my face and out the rear window. But it has to be under MY control.
I'd never buy a car with a camera I can't control. No doubt they'll soon turn it into some subscription shit or spy on you.
Ehm, what do you mean by soon?
I do find this attitude interesting. You don't want yourself to be recorded, but you'll happily record random pedestrians without their knowledge or consent.
This is completely fucked up. Watch someone dig up that Palantir pushed this legislation before they were a household name & recognized as the scum they are
I’d love to buy an electric car, but I want one with no electronics, if that makes sense. Electric power train, but no screens, “driver aids” or other nonsense
You can probably do an hybrid conversion of a popular ICE vehicle.
The newest kits replace the transmission and adds a battery in the trunk. The engine is then converted to run at a fixed RPM for max efficiency. You can also plug them in to charge at home and on short trips they never even start the engine.
Aside form the lost Trunk space, there are very few downsides.
There really should be more investment in this area so it becomes available dor mor cars.
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I always bring up the magic of Scotch's Magic Tape.
This tape lets most of the light through (useful for dynamic light features) while blurring the image as if out of focus or behind frosted glass. It is also mostly discrete unlike opaque tapes.
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Reminder that people with ADHD are regularly falsely flagged as not paying attention by eye tracking software. This camera shit is not only creepy and invasive. It likely doesn’t work well and has an ableist bias.
Oh it turns out the rapid scanning of what's in front of me to look out for and avoid threats while heavily relying on sensing changes in my peripheral vision i.e. to keep distance with the car in front of me isn't just a weird thing that I do because I'm built different, it's an ADHD thing (i'd also do this when working retail doing online orders to run around the store and not run into people)
maybe i really do have adhd and that time i was like "hey doctor i can't read so good no more" and he threw adderall at me he wasn't being medically irresponsible and my adhd was just so apparent that's all it took
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- Camera
- Internet connectivity
- Proprietary software
No device should have more than two of these things.
I don’t see why a vehicle needs to connect to the internet at all. Or have a screen whatsoever. I don’t understand why a car can’t just be a thing with a gear shift and a fucking steering wheel that drives from point A to point B
We're being sold this idea of a car being like, a mobile family home or comfort space away from home. But the thing is, cars before 2015-ish were actually kinda comfy. Now they look and feel like robots. Kinda sickening. They all look so fucking ugly too every car is the same ugly round van/SUV shape now.
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I believe this is (or will soon be) a regulatory requirement in many countries, for self-driving features in modern cars.
For me I don't do long highway trips often enough to justify having it. I would rather not have inherently invasive blackbox tech as a tradeoff for a feature I will seldom (if ever) use.
I'd sell the car.
I don't know about the laws over there, but in the US you'd legally be able to return the car if this camera is a deal breaker and it was not disclosed before purchase.
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Does your state have a lemon law? If you can, return the car as it's clearly defective.
We got a modern BYD recently as a rental on a holiday that had this, it was really annoying. Anytime anything happened the car beeped, it was near constant different beeps - super distracting. Most of the things could be turned off, but had to be turned off each time the car was started, on a tablet buried in various menus.
The attention thing also wasn't working great with the driver wearing sunglasses, it'd randomly start complaining. It also complained when the driver would lean forward to get a better view around a corner or anything.
It was a very fancy car, but I'd definitely never choose a car with these features, even though some may probably be useful.
I'd also never trust one of these companies not to change the policy on what they can do with this camera in the future, at which point you'll have little to no choice about it. Or, to find out they messed up and now anyone can watch you in your car.
I'd go back to the dealership and complain, either ask for a refund or a way to be able to cover the camera, especially if they only disclosed it as you got the car.
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This is creepy as hell. I liked the Renault 5 - until now. Fuck this shit. I wont pay a small fortune, just to enslave myself to a 1984-style digital panopticon. I am getting angry just by reading your story. Corporate greed is once again crossing the line, slowly shifting the overtone window. Everyone who is not concerned about this, is simply ignorant and/or borderline stupid.
If it was my car, I'd probably cover it. And if it then starts beeping, I'd maybe even locate the speaker and deactivate that one, too.
I wonder if it is even legal to sell you something like this without informing you prior to your purchase.
To me your comment brings to mind the underlying problem, which is: your action won't matter because of the overwhelming behavior of the herd. The masses can't comprehend/don't care and profitability is absolutely not tied to consumer satisfaction anymore.
The only winning move is not to play. Buy older models before this idiocy started. My vehicle is 2011 my SO's is 2007.
This is all just to increase the profit margins for insurance.
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The only way I'd tolerate a camera in a vehicle with me would be if I was simply using it as a taxi, and it was driving itself and monitoring the inside.
Otherwise, nah. Any camera in a car I owned would be getting disabled and destroyed just for safe measure.
Honestly I only think it's fair, to also have the driver be subject to surveillance, when they knowingly expose others to the car's exterior cameras.
I have nothing against personal dash cams. I don't like them internet connected.