Location Masking on 2019-2020 GM Vehicles

Location masking on some 2019-2020 GM models equipped with Infotainment 3 Systems (RPO IOR, IOS, IOU, IOT) allows owners to disable the location services feature in their vehicle. By turning location services on or off, owners are able to control the amount of data that is being sent from their vehicle. However, if the location services feature is turned off, it has implications for other connected services that owners may believe are not working properly.

On Infotainment 3 Systems, the default setting is Location Services On in the infotainment system Privacy Settings menu. Owners can enable or disable the location services feature in two ways:

  • In the Settings menu, go to System > Privacy > Location Services and select On or Off.
  • Press and hold the white button next to the blue OnStar button in the overhead console.

 

Location Services Icon

To easily determine if the location services feature is on or off, look for the white Location Services icon in the status bar on the Home screen of the infotainment system. The icon is located next to the clock and outside temperature in the lower-right corner of the screen.

When Location Services are on, the icon will be present without a circle around it. (Fig. 12) If Location Services are off, the icon will be circled in red with a slash through it. (Fig. 13)

 

Fig. 12

 

Fig. 13

 

Connected Services

If the location services feature is turned off, certain functions that require data about the vehicle’s location may not operate as intended or expected by the owner. As a result, the vehicle may be brought to the dealership for service.

If there is a concern about the proper operation of any of the following connected services-related systems, check if the location services feature is disabled in the Privacy Settings on the infotainment system.

  • Connected navigation services, if equipped and active, will not work with location services turned off. The system will operate as a non-connected navigation system.
  • Speech recognition may not offer full functionality.
  • OnStar Advisors will be unable to provide Turn-by-Turn Navigation services.
  • Users may receive error messages from the myChevrolet, myBuick, myGMC or myCadillac mobile app when trying to use the Vehicle Locate feature.
  • Some features of Smart Driver may be inoperable or not work properly, such as the score being replaced by dashes.

 

Location masking does not impact emergency services, such as Automatic Crash Notification and Stolen Vehicle Assistance.

TIP: If there is a connectivity or audio concern, also check to see if Text Telephone (TTY) is enabled. OnStar offers in-vehicle TTY services. TTY functionality may appear to be an audio issue if not properly identified.

 

– Thanks to Jeremy Richardson

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One Comment

  1. Jeremy,

    Is there a way to password protect the on/off function of the location sharing on the vehicle so the driver can’t disable it?

    Thanks,
    Dennis