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Bose Headphones Secretly Collected User Data, Lawsuit Reveals (fortune.com)

Posted by msmash on from the here-we-go dept.

The audio maker Bose, whose wireless headphones sell for up to $350, uses an app to collect the listening habits of its customers and provide that information to third parties -- all without the knowledge and permission of the users, according to a lawsuit filed in Chicago. From a report: The complaint accuses Boston-based Bose of violating the WireTap Act and a variety of state privacy laws, adding that a person's audio history can include a window into a person's life and views. "Indeed, one's personal audio selections -- including music, radio broadcast, Podcast, and lecture choices -- provide an incredible amount of insight into his or her personality, behavior, political views, and personal identity," says the complaint, noting a person's audio history may contain files like LGBT podcasts or Muslim call-to-prayer recordings.

6 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Your headphones are spying on you. by sheramil · · Score: 3, Funny

    Paranoid yet?

    1. Re: Your headphones are spying on you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I don't know about you but all my gay friends never felt persecuted by dick heads.

  2. Re:You get what you pay for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why would anyone spend $10 to $20 on a pair of headphones? I typically spend $1 to $2 for headphones.

  3. In Soviet Russia... by DogDude · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... the headphones listen to you!

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  4. Re:You get what you pay for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why would anyone spend $1 to $2 on a pair of headphones? I read sheet music and play it back in my head.

  5. Re:I am so sick of this shit by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not to worry. I still get American Girl adverts after buying one for my niece. Who just graduated college.

    I still get Hello Kitty adverts after buying some USB drives as a joke.

    Your "nice" and "joke" aside, just a reminder that /. is a safe space and you're free to be yourself w/o any judgment. :-)

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .