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Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)

soundguys.com

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

#271

Post by myth2018 »

m463 wrote: post #258
myth2018 wrote: post #154

Drugstores in Brazil are doing it and that concerns me A LOT. Their modus operandi is to ask you your CPF (it's like an SSN, but not that secret and powerful) and, if you refuse to tell them, you are not eligible for some discounts which can reach 40% in some more expensive items. Customers happily agree to give their CPFs, completely unaware they are of the potentially disastrous consequences, and we are not even of…

That's an interesting thought. The european GDPR and I think the california CCPA have some sort of clause that says if you decide not to allow, you have to be treated the same. But loyalty discount cards and your drugstore example should have a way to get the discount without giving up your anonymity. This would be better for society.

Good to know about such clauses in GDPR and CCPA. I didn't take the time yet to read our own law in detail. I've read that it's gotten much inspiration from GDPR, but the articles I've read so far didn't mention such clauses, being more focused instead on aspects regarding data storing and sharing with third-parties.

I'm going to read it thoroughly within the next days.

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

#272

Post by myth2018 »

slim wrote: post #194
myth2018 wrote: post #154

Drugstores in Brazil are doing it and that concerns me A LOT. Their modus operandi is to ask you your CPF (it's like an SSN, but not that secret and powerful) and, if you refuse to tell them, you are not eligible for some discounts which can reach 40% in some more expensive items. Customers happily agree to give their CPFs, completely unaware they are of the potentially disastrous consequences, and we are not even of…

I think the partido pirata can help with this issue. contact them : http://partidopirata.org

Thanks!

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

#273

Post by dilandau »

Yeah, because some asshole business team decided that why should anyone sell a decent product anymore, when you can squeeze your customers for their personal information, and have a recurring/ongoing revenue stream?

It's like these shit-tier blogs and webdevs, who are tracking every single thing you do on their sites. Are they just incapable of creating? all this tracking...it's anti-creative in the extreme. Mechanical, soulless, lowest common denominator. It's medium.com and web 3.0. Where's the exit bros?

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

#274

Post by Marsymars »

arendtio wrote: post #169
gambiting wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that your wired headphones might break if you're not careful, but if you don't then they will work essentially forever. Your wireless headphones on the other hand will break at some point because the tiny lithium battery inside them will eventually stop holding charge. It's not a question of if but when.

I am aware that most wireless headphones use built-in batteries nowadays, but strictly speaking, your argument doesn't relate to wireless headphones, but to products with non-replaceable batteries. The Sennheiser RS180, for example, had rechargeable and replaceable batteries inside. Ironically, mine died a few months ago, but I am still not sure what the cause was.

Sadly the RS 185 was recently discontinued, and it doesn't look like it will be getting a replacement.

I actually bought a couple spare HDR 185 headsets a few weeks ago, which I'm hoping last me for several decades.

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

#275

Post by myth2018 »

m463 wrote: post #258
myth2018 wrote: post #154

Drugstores in Brazil are doing it and that concerns me A LOT. Their modus operandi is to ask you your CPF (it's like an SSN, but not that secret and powerful) and, if you refuse to tell them, you are not eligible for some discounts which can reach 40% in some more expensive items. Customers happily agree to give their CPFs, completely unaware they are of the potentially disastrous consequences, and we are not even of…

That's an interesting thought. The european GDPR and I think the california CCPA have some sort of clause that says if you decide not to allow, you have to be treated the same. But loyalty discount cards and your drugstore example should have a way to get the discount without giving up your anonymity. This would be better for society.

I can't see other way than entirely forbid drugstores from having loyalty/rewards programs based on personal identification.

They would be allowed to ask for your information when buying through app/web, but could never give you discounts or incentives of any sort for buying through such platforms.

And that wouldn't mean they couldn't have a loyalty program: they could give customers stamps on paper cards, paper seals and alikes. It may sound archaic, but some big supermarket chains use this method regularly and it works pretty well.

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

#276

Post by 55555 »

NoPicklez wrote: post #251
niklasd wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps is just horrible. You unpack your Bose headphone, eager to use them. But before that, you have to download an app on the iPhone, then download a software update program on your laptop, which in turn opens a program in the browser that downloads an update, then…

I own the Bose QC 35's and I never had to use an app at all until I decided to update them to the latest software

I used to love my Bose QC 35 ii's but now I'm convinced they're kind of a scam.

Bose deliberately made the battery enclosure very difficult to open so that you can't replace the battery yourself. Why do you need to replace the battery? Because if you use them every day, the battery degrades so that a full charge only lasts about 1 hour, down from 20+ hours, within just 2 years.

So you aren't really paying $250 for a pair of headphones, you're paying $125 a year to rent them, as they will only last 2 years due to planned obsolescence. This seems to have been a deliberate decision by Bose as the previous model had a removable battery.

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

#277

Post by heavyset_go »

RealStickman_ wrote: post #230
heavyset_go wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iOS exploits are cheaper than Android exploits because they are so plentiful. Plenty of apps on iOS have been caught activating the camera or snooping on the clipboard on iPhones.

If you use Android you have to install a custom rom though to guarantee your privacy.

If you use iOS, you have no other option than just trusting the vendor. You couldn't do anything to make it more secure even if you wanted to.

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

#278

Post by Marsymars »

throwaway_pdp09 wrote: post #180
arendtio wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Sennheiser RS180 died a few month ago after about 8 years or so. They had normal rechargeable batteries, but it seems it was something else that broke down (the batteries got replaced a few times). For my Sennheiser MB 660 I just replaced the ear cushions after about 3 years, but I am still 'worried' that some day the built-in battery will give up. Not because I can't afford new ones, but because I hate if a produ…

I wonder if wireless ones can be hijacked and requested to produce and ultra loud pulse to damage hearing. I suppose that's possible with wired ones buy I guess you'd need to broadcast plenty of energy for them to pick up, which makes it impractical, whereas with wireless ones you just need to get control of the signal. I'm guessing though.

Depends on the type of wireless headphone. I can envision that as possible if you can break Bluetooth encryption and crank up the volume, but there are RF wireless headphones where the digital signal doesn't contain volume level, which is entirely on-device and only controllable with physical buttons.

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

#279

Post by Consultant32452 »

fomine3 wrote: post #259
niklasd wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps is just horrible. You unpack your Bose headphone, eager to use them. But before that, you have to download an app on the iPhone, then download a software update program on your laptop, which in turn opens a program in the browser that downloads an update, then…

AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.

I use my airpods with my Android phone. What am I missing out on?

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

#280

Post by mattnewton »

fomine3 wrote: post #259
niklasd wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps is just horrible. You unpack your Bose headphone, eager to use them. But before that, you have to download an app on the iPhone, then download a software update program on your laptop, which in turn opens a program in the browser that downloads an update, then…

AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.

The experience on Android is they “just work” as Bluetooth headphones.

My experience with the Bose headphones has been excruciating.

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