Rivian has announced it has brought back the interior camera to the 2025 R1T and R1S. This time the automaker is placing the camera in the rearview mirror, after its previous placement above the mirror didn’t work out as planned.
When Rivian started production of the R1T and R1S back in 2021, each vehicle came with a driver-facing camera. This camera, intended for driver-monitoring, was placed above the rearview mirror, much like Tesla’s placement for their in-cabin camera.
However, in mid-2023 Rivian abruptly pulled the interior camera from production, and disabled the cameras in existing vehicles through a software update, with the company explaining in the release notes it was because “the existing camera position and viewing angle do not meet our performance requirements.” As it turned out, the position of the camera meant it only saw the lower half of the driver’s seat, missing out on the key angle a driver-facing camera should capture, the driver’s face.
At the time Rivian said it was “exploring higher performance camera hardware and new cabin placements for future models.” The company has now apparently decided on new hardware, and more importantly, a new placement for the camera.
Rivian announced the new interior camera in an email to customers titled “Data privacy updates at Rivian,” with the company revealing 2025 R1T and R1S have a camera in the rearview mirror. Rivian says this camera is off by default, but owners can turn it on and enable data sharing to “help improve and develop vehicle safety systems.”
The company also added a new support page to their website, saying the camera images will be used for “machine-learning models and the driver-monitoring system.” There was no mention that Gen 1 Rivian vehicles produced with the previous cabin camera will have it turned back on.
Rivian is already producing the 2025 R1T and R1S, but we have yet to see any reports from owners who have noticed the new interior camera, and that is because it is not visible. We checked with one of our readers, X user @IAmSuburban, who shared this photo with us of the rearview mirror in his 2025 Gen 2 Rivian R1S, showing no visible camera, indicating it is hidden behind the glass.
While there is no visible camera, it is definitely there. As Rivian mentioned in their email, a new setting has been added to the Privacy menu, giving owners the option to turn the interior camera on.
Rivian recently released an update to their Gear Guard system. Called Gear Guard Live Cam, the new feature allows owners to view live feeds from the vehicle’s cameras on their mobile devices. Currently the system only shows exterior cameras, but with a future software update Rivian could easily add the feed from the interior camera.
