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

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

#311

Post by TedDoesntTalk » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 3:48 AM UTC

dkdk8283 wrote: post #263

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. I use them with a MacBook Pro through Bluetooth pairing. I never installed any app and never connected the headphones physically to anything. What is the OP talking about? And why would anyone install an app to use headphones?

Why would someone buy noise cancelling headphones if they don’t need that feature? The QC II’s bluetooth range is horrible. Less than half of the QC I’s.

Exactly. If you are disabling noise cancellation on the QC II, you bought the wrong headphones. There are much nicer ones without noise cancellation for less money.

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

#312

Post by trickstra » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 3:55 AM UTC

rkagerer wrote: post #307

When you buy food there's a label on the package that tells you what's in it. When you buy cigarettes there's a big warning label about the risk to your health. I think consumer devices need something like that. Imagine browsing an aisle and seeing a label on the package like "WARNING: These earbuds phone home with the track names you play, your GPS location and menstruation cycle history." How many people do you thi…

But... they do. When you install the app, people routinely agree with "This app wants access to your contact list, storage, internet, and to run at startup". But I get your point, it should be on the box, before you buy the hardware. Currently they can easily argue that you can install the software from appstore, check the required permissions, before even buying the hardware. But that's not enough.

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

#313

Post by datashaman » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:05 AM UTC

It would be neat if we could sandbox specific mobile apps.

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

#314

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:07 AM UTC

atoav wrote: post #139

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they will last longer and thus be be better for the environment This isn’t necessarily true. My wireless headphones have been with me for years. My wired earbuds are cheap enough that I can lose or damage them without care. The former are far better for the environment.

My Sennheiser HD25 have been with me for 10 years and I stepped on them, dropped them used them outside in the rain, in sub zero degrees and three times a week while jogging. 10 years of that is a heavy thing to survive. In fact I know hardly any object that would have survived this long.

[deleted]

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

#315

Post by bitwize » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:19 AM UTC

bitwize wrote: post #294

egypturnash wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My QC35s don't have that button. It's only available in the app, and there is no fine-grained control or anything - just high/low/off.

I have QC35s too. Maybe a newer rev?

Apparently so. I have the QC35 II, which has a button on the left ear can. Bose calls it the Action Button, and it's used to summon Alexa/Google Assistant; but if you don't configure it to use an assistant (through the Connect app?) it will cycle through the noise cancellation level settings.

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

#316

Post by andrewflnr » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:23 AM UTC

_delirium wrote: post #292

andrewflnr wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does... does anyone actually think noise-cancelling is for increasing audio quality? I always thought it was just for handling obnoxiously noisy environments, like airplanes, screaming children, etc.

Aside, but noise cancelling (at least what's currently on the market) doesn't really do much for screaming children. It only handles relatively constant noise well, ideally low/mid-frequency constant noise. Great at silencing stuff like airplane engines, wind, HVAC hum, freeway rumble, etc. But not very effective for people talking, crying babies, car horns, ambulance sirens, slamming doors, etc.

Interesting. I thought there was at least good noise cancelling for shooting/hunting.

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

#317

Post by MereInterest » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:25 AM UTC

pwdisswordfish2 wrote: post #186

acd wrote: post #115

I tend to use passive headphones with 3.5mm jack, they have no electronics in them except the small speakers. They do not collect data. They are also used by musicians when doing audio mixing so its should sounds neutral and good. That the headphones does not have electronics and batteries means they will last longer and thus be be better for the environment.

There is an even easier analysis. If you were designing your own headphones just for your own use, would you have them collect personal data? If your answer is no, then choosing headphones that do not collect data is a logical choice. The author cites some idea of "trading" ongoing collection of personal data^1 for features but I can't see how that applies here, assuming the user has already paid for the product, e.g…

I'd put it a bit differently. If I were designing headphones for my own use, would I have them collect personal data and then give that data to somebody else. I like collecting statistics about myself, because they are interesting. For example, tracking exactly when I go to sleep, start my commute (pre-corona, that is), go on errands. But that is data that is for my use, and not something that I would trust in somebody else's hands.

For headphones, I could see tracking the usage by day, and by time of day. I could see tracking the average volume, the dynamic range, the frequency ranges used. How often do I spend listening to music, to conference presentations, to movies? Those would be fun data to have, but not something that I'd want under the control of a different party for privacy reasons.

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

#318

Post by c3534l » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:28 AM UTC

Can we all just take a step back and appreciate what a techno-dystopia we're living in that this is now a headline no one bats an eye about?

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

#319

Post by waheoo » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:28 AM UTC

monksy wrote: post #167

The article should have buried sony for how egregious they are. They require the app to collect location information, and ear. https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00233341 I'm not sure what else they collect.. but those are the 2 bad ones. They've got a few settings that are software controlled (one being the bluetooth's internal volume) What happens if you get a software update and you open the app on…

This exact thing has happened to me. Blew my fucking mind.

But I'm also a long time suck fony guy so, I basically accepted it as karma for buying this witch doctor voodoo noise cancelling anyway.

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

#320

Post by waheoo » Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:30 AM UTC

inetknght wrote: post #310

55555 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, that's interesting. I've used mine ~6 hours per day for 5 days a week for 2 years. Why can't mine hold a charge for more than an hour? Maybe there's something I don't understand about how batteries work that I am doing and that I could do differently.

I mostly don't use bluetooth. I keep them wired 95% of the time and noise cancelling just eliminates office noise. The remaining 5% of the time is typically on a flight to somewhere connected to my iPhone a couple of feet away.

I wish I could justify wired headphones but I'm too much of a dolt, I've chopped the cord too many times and broken more laptops than I would like to admit.