Carmaker Volkswagen is facing criticism from privacy-conscious drivers after GrapheneOS users reported being locked out of the company’s mobile app, leaving some unable to log in, sync vehicle data, or remotely control their cars.
Reports began surfacing on the GrapheneOS forum and Reddit’s r/degoogle community, where users described suddenly losing access to Volkswagen’s app despite using fully updated devices.
The issue appears to affect Volkswagen’s app ecosystem rather than a specific vehicle model, so owners that rely on VW Connect, We Connect, We Connect ID or related services could potentially be affected.
Some posters pointed to the apparent contradiction that Volkswagen’s software continues to support older, end-of-life Android versions while rejecting GrapheneOS installations.
One affected user, Aaron94, said Volkswagen’s app stopped working entirely after a logout.
Despite enabling compatibility settings and trying multiple workarounds, they were unable to log back in.
Another user, XavDub, reported similar problems. “First symptom, sync did not work anymore from the app, so I tried to logout to login again, but it’s since just impossible,” they wrote, adding that testing on a standard Google Pixel running stock Android worked normally.
When XavDub contacted the German car maker, the company responded that GrapheneOS “is not an official Volkswagen offering” and advised them to contact their OS provider instead.
The timing has raised eyebrows because Volkswagen recently changed the APIs used to access vehicle data.
According to German tech title Heise, the change disrupted third-party tools used by owners for smart charging, solar energy integration, and home automation.
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It’s shaping up to be a cruel summer for GrapheneOS users. Earlier this month reports emerged that age-verification provider Yoti, used by Sony, Facebook and TikTok, had allegedly flagged GrapheneOS users during verification processes, prompting widespread backlash in privacy communities.
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This is kinda a loose fit for this community because it only really concerns cars in the sense that they're an important class of consumer good that can force behavior because they're hard/expensive to replace... but as a GrapheneOS user and owner of a[n old, unconnected] VW, I'll allow it because fuuuuuuck VW.