Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
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Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
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Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#2Looks like you need to download a special app to enable this "feature"
>The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is a man named Kyle Zak, who claims he followed the company's suggestion to "get the most out of your headphones" by downloading the Bose Connect app, and supplying information such as his name, phone number and email address.
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#3Looks like you need to download a special app to enable this "feature" >The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is a man named Kyle Zak, who claims he followed the company's suggestion to "get the most out of your headphones" by downloading the Bose Connect app, and supplying information such as his name, phone number and email address.
It's the app you're being pushed heavily into downloading (even by iOS itself as it is the "accessory accompanying app" as detected by the OS when connecting the headset), for things like updating the headset firmware and setting the bluetooth device name.
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#4Looks like you need to download a special app to enable this "feature" >The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is a man named Kyle Zak, who claims he followed the company's suggestion to "get the most out of your headphones" by downloading the Bose Connect app, and supplying information such as his name, phone number and email address.
Bose describes the Bose Connect app as being for firmware updates and advanced settings tweaking (noise reduction, sharing music between two headphones, etc). No mention of traffic monitoring and/or distribution to ad scum.
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#5So what are the chances this never goes anywhere thanks to a clickwrap EULA that's shoved into your face in 3pt font the moment the app starts?
"Well, your honor, he agreed.."
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#6So what are the chances this never goes anywhere thanks to a clickwrap EULA that's shoved into your face in 3pt font the moment the app starts? "Well, your honor, he agreed.."
EULA for other Bose app (Connect EULA seems not to be available online): https://hearphones.bose.com/eula
"YOUR USE OF THE SOFTWARE ALSO OPERATES AS YOUR CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION, TRANSMISSION AND STORAGE OF CERTAIN STANDARD NETWORKING INFORMATION, DEVICE USAGE DATA, AND BOSE PRODUCT INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET TO SERVERS OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY BOSE OR OPERATED BY THIRD PARTIES ON BEHALF OF BOSE"
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#7Looks like you need to download a special app to enable this "feature" >The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is a man named Kyle Zak, who claims he followed the company's suggestion to "get the most out of your headphones" by downloading the Bose Connect app, and supplying information such as his name, phone number and email address.
The Bose Connect App is not a special feature.
It's promoted as the only way to update the headphones and to control what they connect to over Bluetooth.
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#8What I think would be interesting is: what if a company like this made an app like this, but then clearly stated to users that it'd be collecting data on them and sending it to marketers? They could even pitch it as helping to keep prices "low". How much would this hurt sales? Would it even hurt sales at all? Given the proliferation of "smart TVs" and various IoT devices, I'm extremely skeptical that a company would experience any decrease in sales by simply being honest about their collection of data. The only reason these companies are getting in trouble is because they're sneaky and dishonest and try to hide their data-collection activities. Google has a gigantic business involving collecting user data, without hiding this fact, and they're extremely successful.
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#9So what are the chances this never goes anywhere thanks to a clickwrap EULA that's shoved into your face in 3pt font the moment the app starts? "Well, your honor, he agreed.."
From the Privacy Policy in the app:
Re: Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Lawsuit Says
#10Suing companies for improving your products is not a great idea.