Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019) • Hacker News Board

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#101

Post by jjcon » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:32 PM UTC

saurik wrote: post #76

caymanjim wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't. The app may ask for it, and there may be some benefit to the user if they provide it, but it's not like the headphones magically acquire any of the data the author is complaining about. If people want to give their personal information out, that's up to them. I personally limit what information I share, and I get annoyed when devices or apps try to sneakily get more information than I'm willing to intenti…

They care. It exudes as a cynicism about the world and continual jokes about talking to the FBI agent assigned to watch them. They (as are we) are just powerless to prevent it as every single service and every single platform and apparently every single product is collecting data on us. And since the value of services and platforms and, sadly, even products goes up as more people are using them, the arguments of "don…

I dunno... when it comes to the tiny things this article is talking about I really don’t care. This all seems like outrage in the name of a few clicks. That annoys me way more than my headphones asking to know how long I use them each day.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#102

Post by rblatz » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:32 PM UTC

coliveira wrote: post #83

The sad thing is that many people will think it is Ok to give them this kind of private information, just in exchange for some crappy, useless app. 20 years ago, if somebody said they cared about how many steps they walked, or how many minutes they slept more than last month, or how many minutes they looked at the computer, you would classify them as mentally sick. Except for specialists that do research in these are…

Pedometers have been a thing for quite some time. It was about 20 years ago when one of my parents bought a pedometer, it didn’t have an app, but it had an lcd display that told you how many steps you took.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#103

Post by 14 » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:33 PM UTC

BTCOG wrote: post #86

imglorp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just update your firmware and then remove the app. Not just Bose, the Sony WH* series is also guilty of this. Great cans, awful app.

Great headphones would never require an app or updating of the firmware. They should play music as engineered and intended from day one of the purchase of said heaphones, until they no longer work.

I agree they should just work but I also think their could be good cause for an update such as an improved noise cancelation software updates. I would expect that for music playback that just works always even if you decline the update.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#104

Post by Shalle135 » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

Godel_unicode wrote: post #98

Lio wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also can't get firmware updates if you don't install the companion app and allow them to spy on you.

I only installed the Bose app when I was going to be on a plane, as the app allows you to pair multiple Bose headphones to one source. Then you can watch the same movie with someone else. Edit: Bose also had a nice big opt-out button in the app, and asks during setup.

With the app you can also change the cancellation level, they’re pretty isolated even with the feature powered off entirely but it helps out in some situations.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#105

Post by im3w1l » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

Are these associated apps mandatory for getting the headphones working or are they just value adds?

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#106

Post by joshspankit » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

ubercow13 wrote: post #81

snvzz wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As usual, if there's no headphone jack, I won't buy that device. Privacy isn't even the deal breaker there. Latency and the ability to use my favourite set (Sennheiser HD600) are.

Can a phone reasonably drive such high-impedance headphones anyway?

My first Fiio product was a cute little amp with a battery inside, worked a treat when the phone couldn’t drive the headphones

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#107

Post by BTCOG » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:42 PM UTC

sascha_sl wrote: post #92

BTCOG wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why on EARTH would anyone EVER need to update firmware for a pair of headphones? That's asinine.

The Bose 700 recently patched in EQ support, I'd say that's a reason.

So to each of you with the same response; You're totally ok being sold an unfinished product, paying too high of a price for it, and then having to opt into privacy violations to use a device which should have worked from day one out of the factory. Got it. Noise cancellation in headphones is a gimmick and a fad. High end studio monitors do not typically use it, and it distorts the experience. It makes sense if you're constantly packed in like a sardine on public transit or crowded spaces and you're simply trying to block out the surroundings, but may I suggest buying a real pair of headphones and carrying a pair of earplugs instead? To be very clear on my point. I see needing to update headphones and being conned into my headphones masquerading as a "smart device" equal to needing a smart toaster, or a connected can opener that some would justify should need firmware updates. It's senseless.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#108

Post by blackflame7000 » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

t0astbread wrote: post #65

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because we cut a corner somewhere to make a budget device and realized it was a lot more popular and now we have to patch it like if it was a fucking nuclear reactor....

Patching a nuclear reactor sounds scary

Nothing a little Gorilla Glue can't handle

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#109

Post by Godel_unicode » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

im3w1l wrote: post #105

Are these associated apps mandatory for getting the headphones working or are they just value adds?

Just value adds, you can listen just fine without them. You might lose (in the case of the headphones that lead to the article) some fitness tracking features, ANC or EQ fine-tuning, or other additional functionality but they'll work just fine for audio.

Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

#110

Post by joshspankit » Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 5:45 PM UTC

formerly_proven wrote: post #36

dangoor wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were two things that happened when Apple got rid of the headphone jack: (1) they added water resistance, (2) the phones got thinner. Plus, Apple had seen the trends heading toward wireless headphones. They still included a dongle to give you a standard headphone jack. While Apple could likely have gotten their water resistance even with the headphone jack, they couldn’t have made the phones as thin. People may…

> the phones got thinner No. They didn't. iPhone 5: 7.6 mm thin, 6: 7 mm iPhone 7: 7.1 mm > While Apple could likely have gotten their water resistance even with the headphone jack, they couldn’t have made the phones as thin. Except that's a pretty obvious lie. Not just that the phones did not get thinner (or lighter), they stayed around the same thickness (+- 0.5 mm), while getting larger, much heavier and much more…

It would be very straightforward as well to simply come up with a new thinner analog headphone jack: maybe something balanced and with a magnetic connector since we’re at it?