When a car runs on software, its easy for an automaker to switch features on and off remotely.
Then, it can charge a subscription for those features.
Thats exactly whatToyota is doing with vehicles from 2018 onwards.
Christina Telep / Unsplash
It would be like charging for a TV remote control.
The thing is, pretty much everything we use today has a computer in it, including cars.
And companies like that sweet recurring subscription revenue.
Laura Gariglio / Unsplash
To be clear, Toyota isn’t charging extra just to let you start your car.
“Fast forward, and one day this feature simply stopped working.
I had to now pay for that ‘luxury.'”
Do You Own Anything Anymore?
Subscriptions will almost certainly creep into more and more devices.
Obviously, nobody wants this except the vendors who charge those subscription fees.
But this proliferation of recurring fees comes with a more sinister side.
This brings a significant security risk.
That’s why the UK hasbanned default passwords on smart home devicesand introduced stiff fines for non-compliance.
The best way to avoid both the security risks and the subscriptions is to not use connected devices.
Or, in the case of something like a smart TV, never let it connect to the internet.
But this isn’t possible if you want to unlockor reenablethe features on a vehicle you already own.
And depressingly, there doesn’t seem to be much we can do about it.
