what are the consequences of failing to delete bluetooth pairing on rentals?
 

I realized that I don't always remember to delete my bluetooth pairing on rentals. I didn't bother to look at previous pairings, on the '19 Impala earlier this week, but on the '18 330i around Christmas, I looked, and the bluetooth was full with I think it was 5 phones. I tried to see what I could do with those 5 phones and the answer was nothing. But I found multiple articles on the web acting like you are sc***** as if all your contacts are stored and you're gonna be in trouble. I have ridden with coworkers and they have everything setup like it's their own car, with the car reading texts etc. None of my cars have that at home so usually I just pair to talk. :sad:

Well if it's like a 2013-current Lexus then personal data is not stored (ie names and numbers) unless the phone is there in the car where it's temporarily mirrored. A 2012 or below Lexus stores the items.

I see this all the time when I enter a rental vehicle. I always clear all personal data when I return a vehicle, thereby clearing it for other people as well. Its not a big deal since if that paired phone is not in the car, it will not load your contacts. I just dislike people having my previous guidance locations as well

your contact information and text message may left on the rental car if the car has that sync feature.

This is what I am curious about, of course I prefer not to have strangers allowed access to say our 5,000 contacts that's in a phone (but isn't that online not locally stored, apple or android?)--what if a competitor? In that case seems like it could be of use. Yet, at the same time, I could find no way to get any info on 5 paired phones on a 2018 BMW that I had around XMAS. I just didn't have time to fool around with the '19 Impala this week so see what might have been left behind--I had enough trouble switching the display to English, as it was in French by default. Which would be more likely to store that info and allow anybody to see it, an older car, or a newer car? One would think an older one. But it seems to be a serious security flaw anyway....and yes one should really remember to unpair...

It means that if you ever are really near that car again, your phone may pair up with it. At that point, that person driving that car could make a call with your phone, and stream your music.

That's pretty much it.

So if you put your phone in airplane mode, you will still see uploaded contact info in your MB? Because on my BMW, on those occasions when I left the house without my phone, there's nothing in the car.

I can't recall a loaner or a rental where any info from a prior user was still accessible even if the car still had several phones paired. Usually info like contacts is mirrored while a particular phone is paired, not stored.

Even if it were, it's not so much a security flaw as a user error if someone pairs their phone to a car they don't own and forgets to wipe it before return.

I don't think you understand the technology. When you "pair" your phone with BT, the phone is connected. If the phone is not present, it's just "remembered" so it can pair back up automatically in the future. Seeing other phones in the menus are not phones that are "paired"; they are "stored" to be paired without re-verification.

There's no way rental car companies are going to take the time for employees to purge stored devices after every rental.

I'll tell you what the real problem is--when I rent a car and there's no more slots left to pair my phone, because the car has reached the max number of stored devices, forcing me to delete one to pair my phone.

The risk of not deleting (and leaving) Bluetooth-paired contacts on a rental car's infotainment system (for those systems that retain the data) is the theft of that data. Leaving data in the infotainment system is similar to leaving a bag, a purse or Christmas present on the car's seat for anybody who passes by to see.

There is a reason we are warned not to leave valuables (or anything that may appear valuable) on the seat in an unattended vehicle: passersby may see what is there and may be tempted to grab what is there (it happened in our quiet neighbourhood over the recent holiday break, with a number of break-ins into cars parked in driveways).

Similarly, if contact data is left in the rental car's infotainment system, it becomes visible to the next user of that car and they may be tempted to collect and use that data for unintended purposes.

What are the consequences? There are none.

The only data stored in the loaner is the authentication for the car to pair with the phone when it comes in range. A thief would have to (1) have the sophistication to extract that data about how to pair with a prior renter's phone, and then (2) find that prior renter, and get within 30 feet of that renter, and pair to the same phone (assuming the renter still has that same phone) in order to get the actual data stored on the phone.

BUT--older style BT systems provided for the option to upload your phonebook to the car, where the info is then stored, regardless of which phone you may then be using. If you are renting a car that uses such a system, and you made the mistake of actually uploading your phonebook to the car, you should definitely delete all stored contacts before returning the car.

The 2018 BMW loaner was clearly the latter, and I wish I had tried the '19 Impala but I would think it's also the latter. I think that technology should encompass the user and protect them. Isn't far fetched that rentals are returned in a hurry and the user may not remember to unpair i.e. delete the pairing.

So it would seem the pairing is almost meaningless, but the contacts, maybe maybe not if uploaded. One would have thought that the use thereof would still require an active pairing?

Then again there's a reason why work laptops are encrypted to great expense and effort of IT--because employees can and will lose them. When I lost my laptop at Pearson (hats off to them, received an email recovered in < 24 hours, was surprised), I asked someone but I have a windows login so nobody else can log on, right? The person nearly sprayed with spit as my question was so naive. That's why I am asking too about the BT pairing! :D

p.s. I also forgot to delete on a 2018 Sienna minivan. Wonder what system that one has. Shucks, and a 2018 Santa Fe and a 2018 Rogue I need to be more careful!

I just don't think this is a big deal. What is somebody going to do with your contacts even if they had them? Why would anybody want them? Whoever rents the car after you has no idea who you even are...