47 minutes ago, HenPen said:

According to Google's AI turning on the "Private Mode" in a car will disable most of the Infotainment System's functions, but it is the only way to turn off the data feed for the Driving Score. In other words, there's LESS info available that the Ford Cortina had!

Gemini (Google's AI) says,

In a Škoda vehicle, "Private Mode" temporarily disables online services in the infotainment system. This includes features like online navigation, traffic information, and some online services related to ŠKODA Connect. While "Private Mode" is active, the emergency call service (eCall) and Info Call/Breakdown Call remain functional, including data transfer. 

How to Activate Private Mode:

1. Access Settings: Press the "Menu" button on the navigation system.

2. Navigate to Connect: Go to "Settings" and then "Connect".

3. Manage Online Services: Navigate to "Online Services" or a similar option to manage online services.

4. Activate Private Mode: Select "Private Mode" to enable it. 

What happens when Private Mode is active:

• Online Services Disabled:

  Infotainment online services are temporarily switched off, as indicated by an icon on the navigation bar,

• Emergency Services Remain Active:

  The eCall service and Info Call/Breakdown Call remain active and functional, including data transfer,

• No Data Transfer for Online Services:

  While Private Mode is active, data transfer for online services is deactivated,

• No Position Data Shared:

  The car's position is not shared with the customer portal or the app in Private Mode,

Hi HenPen,

This AI generated text is not a solution. I do understand that you want to help us out but this is not it.

Disabling everything to maybe(!) stop Skoda from processing that data is crazy.

I will go the formal GDPR route, as one of the commenters above has done.

And speaking of AI generated slop, you can guess how the official Skoda support came up with these instructions:

Thanks @HenPen , but frustrating!

I wonder if (or when) there will be a class action to force Śkoda to make changes and/of compensate owners 🤔

When you go to driving score, click learn more. Tells you more info about the driving score and how to opt out. I’m going experiment with something. For it to collect data for your driving score you have to be logged in as primary user, so I’ll try as not the primary user, see if the score changes.

Ok after a re-read this probs won’t prevent the data collection just your ability to see the score. But maybe the data won’t be linked to you if you’re not logged in as primary user

So these are the options. The symbol for maximum privacy is a mask and a hat lol

So in the above screen I just deselected driving data. Did some hard braking to reduce my score and it hasn’t changed anything in driving score, but the driving data you can view has also stopped. Doesn’t seem to have affected anything else.

4 minutes ago, Mark06 said:

So in the above screen I just deselected driving data. Did some hard braking to reduce my score and it hasn’t changed anything in driving score, but the driving data you can view has also stopped. Doesn’t seem to have affected anything else.

Yes Private Mode deactivates everything. Mine had some work done at the dealership last month and they activated Private Mode whilst it was in there. Once I collected it I needed to turn private mode off to get everything working again.

I have heard that it’s what dealerships should do when your car is with them for service or repairs etc…..

Probably a silly question but I deleted the MySkoda app once it became a pay to subscribe thing.

I’m assuming that even though I no longer have the app that the car will still be collecting all of this data and giving me a “driving score”?

42 minutes ago, Dillers said:

Probably a silly question but I deleted the MySkoda app once it became a pay to subscribe thing.

I’m assuming that even though I no longer have the app that the car will still be collecting all of this data and giving me a “driving score”?

I’d assume that too.

That assumption based on the fact that as soon as I opened the new version of the app, the driving score was shown; the data must have been there on the Škoda servers for the app to read.

14 minutes ago, SteveTheElder said:

I’d assume that too.

That assumption based on the fact that as soon as I opened the new version of the app, the driving score was shown; the data must have been there on the Škoda servers for the app to read.

Yes, I’ve just downloaded the app again and logged in, lo and behold my scores go back as far as I can see.

Got a score of 94 though which isn’t too bad considering I do like to “open the taps” a little from time to time (weather and road conditions permitting of course). Not that that’s the point of course, and I shall be deactivating as much of the monitoring as I can out of principle.

So re the experiment above, I kept the full data sharing on, you can then go in and switch off individual settings. I turned off driving data and drove a bit to try alter the score. Last night the score hadn’t altered but this morning it has so deselecting driving data didn’t stop it altering my score unfortunately.

It's the car that keeps the data (and reports to the Skoda server), not the app. The app updates once a day (or so the Skoda website says).

Had an email response from Škoda Support - I had queried how to opt out. The original FAQs said through the App...

I couldn't find anywhere in the App to do so.

Today's email told me it was in the car Infotainment System 🤷‍♂️. And guess what, the FAQ has in 36 hours been updated to this...

What it doesn't say is what else is lost by activating Private Mode 🙄. That's the topic of my reply.

3 hours ago, SteveTheElder said:

Had an email response from Škoda Support - I had queried how to opt out. The original FAQs said through the App...

I couldn't find anywhere in the App to do so.

Today's email told me it was in the car Infotainment System 🤷‍♂️. And guess what, the FAQ has in 36 hours been updated to this...

What it doesn't say is what else is lost by activating Private Mode 🙄. That's the topic of my reply.

Yea, got something similar. It basically disables everything.

Anyhow, there is no way I am ok with them processing my private data this way, so I will be looking for a better way to disable this, even if it means saying goodbye to the Skoda application.

There are some other concerns, but for that will need to find some free time to write directly to the DPO and our countries GDPR watchdog.

1 hour ago, Ilgmars said:

Yea, got something similar. It basically disables everything.

Anyhow, there is no way I am ok with them processing my private data this way, so I will be looking for a better way to disable this, even if it means saying goodbye to the Skoda application.

There are some other concerns, but for that will need to find some free time to write directly to the DPO and our countries GDPR watchdog.

I’ve given feedback to the Support team and expressed my frustration that whilst I pay the subscription for what I consider useful services (which includes the likes of mpg, distance, etc) disabling the driving score (which I don’t ask for) also disables stuff I pay for.

Also asked them to pass the feedback as a requirement to the development teams (which they agreed to do).

And yes, have emailed to the DPO too.

The VG Group uses the ABAX system for driver monitoring. It is an integral part of the electronic system. According to the ABAX site, "The ABAX unit in each vehicle uses extensively tested algorithms and robust set of parameters to detect driving behaviour events for each of the 5 key driving behaviour factors. Rapid acceleration, harsh braking and sharp cornering are measured using an accelerometer inside the unit that measures g-force. Idling is measured using a combination of a motion-sensor and GPS."

What is done with the data in private cars is not at all clear. With fleet monitoring, things are clearer: "Each factor score can be viewed at the individual driver level or as a summary of your entire fleet. You can also compare driving trends over time internally or against the national average.

Driving scores will affect vehicle-related costs, your environmental impact, safety, your company image, the likelihood of an incident and insurance premiums – so work to keep them as high as possible!

An admin can monitor driving behaviour from the Driving behaviour menu, Reports, or directly in the Map." So it IS clearly a tool for monitoring individual drivers.

Its use in Skoda cars is probably meant to be benign, but it is an always-on "spy in the cab" as much as an HGV's tachometer. I think that its use is a perversion of GDPR rights and that the data the VW/Skoda group hold on drivers' behavoiur is almost cvertainly grossly excessive and disproportionate.

8 minutes ago, HenPen said:

Its use in Skoda cars is probably meant to be benign, but it is an always-on "spy in the cab" as much as an HGV's tachometer. I think that its use is a perversion of GDPR rights and that the data the VW/Skoda group hold on drivers' behavoiur is almost cvertainly grossly excessive and disproportionate.

Totally agree, especially for private use vehicles, and is the gist of my email to the Škoda DPO.

Big Brother is watching

I don’t mind the application in itself it is who has access to it that bothers me

Even opting out of sharing the data being a cynic I don’t believe this data doesn’t find itself in the hands of corporations that could lead to its abuse …….affecting driving premiums for insurance and possibly invalidating warranty claims

I agree that paying for the services only to find you can’t use them by being forced to change certain settings is not cricket

Can everyone share the contact details you are using so others can email their own concerns?

1 hour ago, logiclee said:

Can everyone share the contact details you are using so others can email their own concerns?

These are whom I emailed…

[email protected]

[email protected]

as yet, no response from the DPO ☹️

22 minutes ago, SteveTheElder said:

These are whom I emailed…

[email protected]

[email protected]

as yet, no response from the DPO ☹️

I've emailed them both asking for the ability to disable driving score alone or a refund on my online services which I've just renewed.

34 minutes ago, SteveTheElder said:

These are whom I emailed…

[email protected]

[email protected]

as yet, no response from the DPO ☹️

38 minutes ago, SteveTheElder said:

These are whom I emailed…

[email protected]

[email protected]

as yet, no response from the DPO ☹️

Well, give them some time, I think that it can take up to a month. If there is silence after that, file a complaint with your countries ombudsman:
https://www.edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en

If you believe that they have violated the GDPR, you can lodge the complaint with your countries agency anyway.
The fines for these violations can be very significant.

I would agree that its use on a "opt out" basis is a breach of GPDR, even for commercial use vehicles.

13 hours ago, BeastVRS said:

Big Brother is watching

I don’t mind the application in itself it is who has access to it that bothers me

Even opting out of sharing the data being a cynic I don’t believe this data doesn’t find itself in the hands of corporations that could lead to its abuse …….affecting driving premiums for insurance and possibly invalidating warranty claims

I agree that paying for the services only to find you can’t use them by being forced to change certain settings is not cricket

Nail hit on head right there.

I don’t think it matters whether or not you opt out / disable something via settings, the data is still being collected and will still end up being used somehow, tis the way of the world these days. Unless we revert back to old school cars then the tech is here to stay, that’s progress folks!