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Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

zdnet.com

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Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#171

Post by givinguflac »

ralphm wrote: post #44
crispyambulance wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't seem like a terrible deal ( http://www.sonos.com/en-us/legal/privacy ). What part of the privacy policy do you specifically have an issue with?

The part where playing audio, including that from 3rd party sources, doesn't need Sonos to get any device usage data. However they still want it 'to improve their service', and you can't turn that off. Not accepting terms means that you'll never get firmware updates.

Read the privacy policy, you can opt out of usage data. This article is clickbait crap and completely inaccurate. They clearly tell users how to opt out of usage data collection; I'm not seeing the problem here.

As for the data collection you can't opt out of, it's super basic data like your ip and account registration info. How do you expect to use a cloud service if it doesn't know your ip?

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#173

Post by givinguflac »

MikeGale wrote: post #150

I suspect that legislators are so far behind the curve on this, that they'll never protect decent humans from such guys. Answer: Forget the protection afforded by the state. Protect yourself. Blacklist the scum manufacturers, warn your acquaintances. What other suggestions.

Have you even read what data is being collected? Sonos is not a scum company, though the article is providing badly inaccurate info.

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#174

Post by givinguflac »

xg15 wrote: post #148
pantsofhonking wrote: post #104

Wow talk about blowing something out of proportion. The new software comes with new terms. If you don't accept the new terms you keep the existing software. Over time, it is possible that current software sill stop working with e.g. some future Pandora API, and you'll have a choice of either updating your software or foregoing that feature. I have a Sonos in every room of my house and I've owned them since the very f…

Whatever the rationale, the posts's core statement - that either people accept new contract terms or their device will brick the next time they change the API - is correct. [edit] apparently the models have a line-in socket? In that case, I agree, them turning into regular speakers is better than bricking. However, I still think the article is relevant as it highlights the problem of ownership and terms of sale with…

This is silly, no one is saying they are going to brick the hardware, ever. But if you don't update and years later Spotify decides to change their end points, Spotify will likely stop working on your very outdated speaker.

If you have any google account or android device, they already have literally orders of magnitude more info on your life than Sonos would ever be able to collect. Not to mention Sonos has said it doesn't ever sell the data, AND you can opt out of usage info. Not seeing the problem here.

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#175

Post by givinguflac »

lamecicle wrote: post #8

I remember a time when the phrase "if you don't know what the product is, you're the product" made sense. Now it's, "if you don't kn... oh f*ck it, you're the product!"

Read the policy. It clearly states they don't sell data and you can opt out from usage info. Where does that make the user a product?

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#176

Post by bogomipz »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #144
leggomylibro wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer is, nobody does. They implicitly agree under duress, because their time is worth far too much to even read 10 pages of fine print for every product they use. I'm not being flippant; it bloody well is. I'm not sure why courts consider that to hold any weight; to me it goes against the whole notion of informed consent in binding agreements. And to be fair, often the courts don't consider to hold any weight.

>They implicitly agree under duress, because their time is worth far too much to even read 10 pages of fine print for every product they use. I'm not being flippant; it bloody well is. You don't need to read 10 pages of fine print for every product, because it's functionally the same fine print for every product. If you don't like this, don't ever buy smart devices because they /all/ reserve the right to do this kind…

>"If you don't like this, don't ever buy smart devices because they /all/ reserve the right to do this kind of stuff."

It seems odd then that you have to actually buy the device before you can even read the terms. I guess the idea is that you can always return it if you don't agree?

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#177

Post by givinguflac »

pedrocr wrote: post #133

Anyone have another suggestion for a pair of wifi speakers that can be assigned to Left/Right to get stereo and can be network streamed to and have another device on the network with a line-in? I was about to buy 2 Play1's and a Connect to do a stereo install in a room where I don't want to run speaker cable. I had researched wackier home-built solutions and was going to give up and go for the Sonos. Now I'm once aga…

I'm really interested to know what specifically you're concerned about. This article is just inaccurate. You can opt out of usage data, so what is the privacy issue for you personally?

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#178

Post by givinguflac »

senectus1 wrote: post #61
zippergz wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Are there certain services you find to be buggy? I feel like Sonos is one of the least buggy pieces of tech in my house. That's what I love about it. It just works, I don't have to explain to non-technical family members how to work around issues, etc. But we almost exclusively use it for Apple Music and Spotify, so maybe there are some rough edges we haven't encountered.

try playing music that is stored on your phone the sonos... it keeps cutting the effing song off short and starting the next song too early. a bug that's been around forever and they plain refuse to fix it.

I do this all the time. Have you contacted Sonos for help?

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#179

Post by givinguflac »

Silhouette wrote: post #42
crummy wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't Sonos just saying, if you don't accept the new privacy policy you won't get updates? I highly doubt they're going to deliberately (somehow) break devices for users that refuse to update.

The reporting here implies that devices for customers who don't accept the new terms may "cease to function". Does the mechanism for how that happens matter? The bottom line is that either the product continues to provide whatever functionality it was purchased for, or it's now broken. Typically under consumer protection laws in places like Europe, a product that ceases to work properly unreasonably quickly after it…

You're being alarmist; no one is bricking anything. If you refuse to update and Spotify changes endpoints in five years that's not bricking your device.

Re: Sonos: users must accept new privacy policy or devices may “cease to function”

#180

Post by pfarnsworth »

cm2187 wrote: post #102

To be honest I had a pretty average experience with Sonos so far. It is connected with cat6 ethernet, professional switches, with no other connectivity problems on that network (and I tested all cables). I have 3 systems (pay1, play 5 and the sonos amp), and they keep losing track of each others, I have to regroup them regularly. They also struggle with long music tracks (i.e. 1h podcasts off a synology shared drive)…

I have 2 Play 1's, Play 5 and Play Soundbar. They have worked fantastically and I've never had a problem once in several years. The idea that they can be bricked has me extremely upset right now.
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