Rivian allows you to disable all internet connectivity

Rivian has quietly offered drivers a dramatic new choice: turn off the car’s internet connection entirely. Privacy-minded owners cheered the idea of stopping data from leaving the vehicle, but the comment section instantly turned into a popcorn-worthy fight over what that freedom really costs. Why? Because going offline can also knock out big features like navigation, lane-centering help, and software updates that can include safety fixes. In Canada, drivers can flip a setting themselves; elsewhere, they may need a service appointment just to get the built-in mobile connection disabled.

That tradeoff is where the community got spicy. One camp basically said, finally, a kill switch for the surveillance car era. A commenter even brought receipts from Mozilla’s infamous car privacy report, where brands like Nissan and Kia were blasted for collecting creepily intimate data, including your “sex life” and “sexual activity” via their policies. Another commenter joked this sounded like the car version of a simple “disable AI” toggle — a nerdy little meme, but one that landed.

But the other side was not impressed. Critics called Rivian’s offer a classic corporate cop-out: sure, you can stop data collection, but only by sacrificing the smart features you already paid for. Others went even darker, warning that internet-connected cars are a national security risk if a foreign government or manufacturer can reach into vehicles remotely. And one practical worry cut through the drama: if software updates can include safety recalls, what happens when an offline car needs a fix? That question hung over the thread like a flashing dashboard light.