Slashdot Mirror
GasBuddy Has a New Privacy Policy (Spoiler: Not As Customer Friendly)
An anonymous reader writes: GasBuddy has been a popular iOS and Android app for the last 5 years used to find the cheapest place to get gas. According to the Google Play store, there are over 10 million installs (in additions to the installs from Apple and Amazon's appstores). Now that they have a large enough number of users, GasBuddy has updated their privacy policy to allow them to collect more information. Some highlights of the privacy policy changes include: only 10 days for new terms to take effect (previously users were given 30 days to review the changes); collection of "signal strength related to Wifi or Bluetooth functionality, temperature, battery level, and similar technical data"; and [a warning that the company] will not honor a web browser's "do not track" setting.
Many (most?) modern engines have knock detectors in them. If they are expecting higher octane fuel and you use something lower than specified, they retard the timing significantly to try to prevent pre-ignition. This results in a significant drop in power as well as mileage. The end result is that you'll pay more for the regular in loss of efficiency than you will save in cash. On my 1996 328i, the drop was ~20% in mileage (had a two week fuel shortage and couldn't get premium and I was pretty anal about tracking my mileage at that time). Premium isn't 20% more in cost (at least where I live it isn't). Add in the time spent making more frequent fuel stops and the potential for engine damage, and it's a money loser. Basically, follow the manufacturer's recommendations.