As an insider of the automotive industry I can say:
- these devices are added due to regulations
- Yes. It is creepy
- functionality is computed and performed onboard the car, it doesn’t rely on any connection to the outside to function
- however, it could very well be sending data back to the mothership. They are legally obligated to get your explicit consent as per GDPR law
- the software is completely closed-source and there is no chance we get any information about it. It’s all private intellectual property. Actually, the Car manufacturers (in this case Renault) almost always requires all suppliers of such equipment to ensure there is ZERO Open-source code in the delivered product. Suppliers are audited to prove they have not reused any Open-source code, piece of code or libraries.
I have a small method I use. If I cannot find something and am searching for it. I take a mental note of the first place I looked for. Then, when I eventually find it, I put it back at the place I first thought of looking, because it must be a “logical” place for this thing to be.