[pkandro]

Originally Posted by sse

Buried underneath was an actual owners' comment that these ads can be turned off in adrenox app.

Can owners confirm if this available only for subscribed member?

Last month, the service manager informed me of the same (the ads had not started yet, he just said that it is being added in the system) and asked if I want them to be turned off beforehand.

To that i replied that I am sure not a single owner wants ads so what is the need to ask, just disable it. He told me to leave the car for a few hours as his laptop was not available at the time. Apparently he is connecting his laptop and changing the settings internally to disable it.

I did not know that the option was also available through the app (maybe even he did not know).

I will thank him the next time I go there, as he went above and beyond to improve my car experience, possibly going against what Mahindra wants.

[shankar.balan]

Oh this is a new depth they seem to be plumbing. I think best hold on to one’s ‘senior’ cars for as long as possible. At least one is spared the pixelated silicon and lithium shackles of the screen.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Imagine buying a flat and the builder has installed TV screens inside the flat with advertisements flashing across it. Won't be a pleasant sight for the buyer

Actually, in my apartment’s basement, these LED screens have popped up outside the elevators overnight, with seemingly no explanation. They’re not connected yet, but I shudder to think of when that happens!

[binand]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Actually, in my apartment’s basement, these LED screens have popped up outside the elevators overnight, with seemingly no explanation.

These OOH media companies push for installation inside elevators - where the audience is captive. If yours is not doing that be glad and thankful. :-)

Since most RWAs are always on the lookout for additional streams of revenue, they all seem to sign up for this. The money is good I suppose.

I don't know what stories they feed to the advertisers. "Captive audience", "highly targeted" etc.? In my apartment in Bangalore the ads are about businesses and events happening in Pune, Delhi etc. - so all that spiel is of course bunkum.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Actually, in my apartment’s basement, these LED screens have popped up outside the elevators overnight, with seemingly no explanation. They’re not connected yet, but I shudder to think of when that happens!

I gave the example in my post after seeing them in my apartment common areas, fully operational since past 3 yrs. Per the builder and society, the ad revenue goes to the society pool. I don't mind that as long as nothing is installed in my private space, which is my flat.

[Themomomonsterr]

Originally Posted by throttleAddict

But if this is real, imagine the horror—driving peacefully, only to have ads pop up right in your line of sight!

Lol, first they don't provide Car Play on release haggling for it's license, now this.
If this ends up being a reality we have no control over, I am going to sell the Thar Roxx and digest all the depreciation loss. I hope what @pkandro has detailed on being able to disable ads, will be an option for all owners.

[anjan_c2007]

Mahindra's unsaid and unwritten diktat for its recent customers using their OE HU :-

"Thou shall remain under our control even post the free services & warranty, both dutifully availed."

[gururajrv]

If this is true with infotainment allowing advertisements, i believe it's the OEMs shady way of pushing renewal of subscriptions to shoo ourselves away from these ads

[viren83]

Now we know why XEV 9E has 3 screens

[frewper]

Originally Posted by carjack3090

Can I say that I don't actually mind this?

Car makers run on extremely low margin on their cars, especially in a country like ours where cars like 700 are taxed at 48 percent. So advertising revenue can generate them some extra cash flow that can help them be more competitive in an otherwise cut throat industry.

Don't you think in that case Mahindra should be giving us the car for free ?

If I have ads on my infotainment, I want the car for free. Otherwise why am I paying big bucks.


Pay 35L and also see ads? that's a stupid deal aint it ?

[GTO]

I hope and pray that, whichever wise guy from Mahindra initiated this dumb initiative, his house should be full of digital ads on screens installed by the builder he bought his house from.

Actually, scratch that. Extend the house ads to this wise guy and his entire team.

@ Mahindra: You've always been classy & we've loved that. Even in your social media spats, you've never hit below the belt. Please don't indulge in such petty revenue streams and kill the experience for your owners. We aren't paying 30-lakhs to own a digital billboard inside the car. Cheap, cheap, cheap!

[steadfast]

All of us complaining here will be able to do nothing .. When Apple removed chargers nothing happened even then, rather we started paying up. Few boycotts will not impact Mahindra.
So end of the day, Mahindra will go freemium here and owners will be required to pay to have no ads. Just hope this was a failed pilot exercise that never goes full scale live.

[bijims]

As I iterated, Mahindra always had plans to do this, why else would they have this feature to display ads built on the XUV7OO infotainment screen from the launch itself? Wonder why it took them so long to implement this. Maybe it's related to the AdrenoX subscription period of 3 years and ads started popping up only after this interval.

[karikaalan]

In today's world of default data collection and abuse by corporates, I think it is essential to review the privacy settings and options that are on by default (like when buying a new phone for instance)

- Vehicle analytics to be disabled
- GPS to be turned off when maps are not used
- Wifi/Mobile data to be disabled
- Hard reset in case telematics permissions are asked and selected default by the showroom before the car is being handed over
- remove eSIM for maximum privacy

Can't wait to see what Orwellean nightmares are in store for us in the coming years in the name of technology