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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.

43 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 Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

      hootie and the blowfish it's cheaper the blank tape

    2. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by Mycroft-X · · Score: 3, Interesting

      noting a person's audio history may contain files like LGBT podcasts or Muslim call-to-prayer recordings.

      Why do people who, if you asked them, would say that things like the above shouldn't be stigmatized, then go out of their way to stigmatize them with an implication that content in those categories should be subject to some sort of special expectation of privacy?

    3. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Oh, I don't know, perhaps because dickheads persecute them for it?

    4. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by squiggleslash · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why do people who, if you asked them, would say that things like the above shouldn't be stigmatized, then go out of their way to stigmatize them with an implication that content in those categories should be subject to some sort of special expectation of privacy?

      Your logic doesn't follow. The issue is that they're already subject to stigma. Therefore (1) we need to remove that, (2) until we do, we need to ensure people who are LGBT or people with minority religious beliefs aren't targeted for that.

      The second part of your claim doesn't even make sense. You're not making something subject to stigma by hiding the fact you're doing it, you're hiding it because it's stigmatized.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    5. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by Quirkz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There's nothing special about the right to privacy, and stigmatization doesn't have to have anything to do with it. Anything you don't want to reveal, you ought to be able to keep to yourself. Religion and sexuality get cited a lot, because they're commonly things people might not want to reveal to strangers, corporations, etc.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
    6. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by sjames · · Score: 2

      Because even though they shouldn't be stigmatized, they are by some people in some places.

    7. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      Can you show me _anywhere_ that Jesus said any of those things?

      Because you're talking about the corrupted versions of men, specifically by Moses and Paul -- both, who ironically, who started their spiritual "careers" by murdering people.

      Even in Jeremiah 8:8 it admits that scripture is corrupted:

      "'How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?

    8. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by JimFive · · Score: 2

      Believing that something shouldn't be stigmatized does not preclude acknowledging that it is stigmatized.
      --
      JimFive

      --
      Please stop using the word theory when you mean hypothesis.
    9. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by losfromla · · Score: 2

      Jesus supported Mosaic law. He believed it should be followed. Therefore he advocated all of those things and the murderers in your bible are just that. Your god is pretty much a dick as well:
      Turns a woman to salt for caring about her neighbors.
      Kills everyone on the planet because they made choices he didn't like.
      Destroys two cities because they wanted to freely express their sexuality.
      Thinks he has a great servant who offers up his daughters to a bunch of men so they won't bother some "angels".

      And those are the good parts.

      Here's a great one:
      Everyone goes to hell for ever and ever and ever who doesn't do the magic prayer for whatever reason.

      Have a great day! I imagine it's a bit difficult though while maintaining such a high level of cognitive dissonance.

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    10. Re:Your headphones are spying on you. by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      You mis-attributing to the pagan Egyptian God Yahweh what man corrupted.

      Go read Matthew 22:37-40 again:

      37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
      39 And the second is like it: âLove your neighbor as yourself.'
      40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.â

      Because ANYTHING that contradicts this is a perversion and corruption written by MEN of some nameless God which includes 99.99% of the Bible.

      Only a complete, and fucking idiot, believes that our All-Parent commands his/her children to kill one another.

      The fact that you can't summarize the Bible in 2 words, Love Unconditionally, makes me question your reading comprehension. You are throwing the baby out with the bath water.

      Blaming other people because they were too stupid to understand Spirituality is no excuse for your own ignorance about man-made Religion.

  2. Oh, shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've bought Bose headphones (no, not the wireless: it's pretty improbable they spy on me, for a lack of channel for that).

    Remember to add Bose to no-buy list.

    HELLO, BOSE: You just went from "I'm a happy customer" to "You're on my no-buy list". Are you glad now?

    (Captcha: "decibel". Perhaps my earphones are listening on me, after all?)

    1. Re:Oh, shit. by scotts13 · · Score: 2

      Companies are, in fact, not (usually) stupid. Someone calculated the revenue from selling the information against the loss in sales X the chance it will be discovered. The profit said "do it!" I've worked for companies where it cost more to keep existing customers happy than to advertise for new ones. Guess what we did?

    2. Re:Oh, shit. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This was for the longest time the approach to security. How high is the damage if our customer data gets lost? How much would it cost to secure it? It costs HOW MUCH? Screw security!

      Only when laws were passed that made CEOs personally (!) liable (yes, with their private money) if they can't show that they've taken reasonable steps to secure it, suddenly security became an issue.

      And we won't see anything being done in favor of privacy unless corporations feel the govenments' boots on their necks.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Oh, shit. by Gr8Apes · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Companies are, in fact, not (usually) stupid.

      I'd disagree - companies are, in fact, very stupid in very many ways. Just remember that the "brains" of a company for all intents and purposes are usually the CEO/COO and related C level folks. Now realize that most of those folks don't know the first thing about data security (for purposes of this particular topic) and only see the marketer numbers about how collecting x will generate y revenue for a minimal cost of 0.01% of generating y, as they determined with a single question during a program meeting. (Marketers generally have 0 grasp of anything regarding IT best practices and real costs) I have had many fun conversations with bosses about why something so simple as adding an age and gender field to an account and displaying that info costs far more than adding, say, a nickname field, especially when working for an entity that deals with PII restrictions.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
  3. That's the ONLY reason for apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't understand why The Kids (TM) are obsessed with apps. Any time someone tries to get you to use an app where you don't have to, you can be pretty sure it's in order to harvest more data about you.

    Captcha: everyday

  4. I am so sick of this shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't buy expensive headphones and generally have avoided some things that are privacy invading. But even surfing the web I get some well-timed mailings that make me fucking paranoid as shit. So to that end I have a request of corporate America: My life is not a resource to be commoditized. Stop fucking spying on me you slimy pieces of shit. I will share information with you IF I WANT TO.

    1. Re:I am so sick of this shit by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      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.

      Whatever the hell info they have on me, well, good luck with that.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:I am so sick of this shit by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      What's needed is a shim for Android and iPhone. To lie to all apps about basically...everything. When an app asks for permissions, this shim should look the app up and give it 'appropriate' access.

      Tell all the apps you are constantly on the shopping streets of Beverly Hills, Venice, Manhattan and Monaco. Watch the 'free shit for rich fuckers that don't need it' roll in. Have it fake up obvious charter flights on gulfstreams...flights between 'executive airports' that don't match any scheduled ones, but travel at jet speed.

      Tell the apps that all the most powerful people in DC, Beijing, Moscow, London, Tokyo and your own nation's capital are in your contact list and _calling you_ constantly. You are Rothschilds', Putin's, Trump's, both Clintons, Merkel's, the King of Saudi's and the entire Chinese central committee's BFF. Along with 1000 other names nobody knows: lobbyists, 'high class' madams/pimps/whores, 'very hard drug' dealers, weapon dealers, lawyers, spy agency heads and senior staff, preachers etc etc...the scum attached to power.

      My understanding is that the only way to do this is a custom ROM on Android, impossible in apple's ecosystem.

      What are the chances of Apple allowing this app, should it be built, into their walled garden?

      What could this apps writers charge other app writers for 'special treatment'? Default behavior for say, 'Maps' should be to lie to it about where you are unless the app's interface is visible. What would it be worth to Google to 'fix that'? Evil laugh...we could 'tax' them. What about the NSA? (Jokes on the devs: The spooks would, no doubt, just 'own' their source control server).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. 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. . . .
    4. Re:I am so sick of this shit by JohnFen · · Score: 2

      My solution for Android requires root, but it is effective: I run a firewall that automatically blocks all traffic to and from all apps. Then I make exceptions for specific apps that both actually require internet access to do the tasks I want and that I am comfortable with. There are very, very few of those.

  5. sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sigh. I know this is Slashdot, but come on!

    Bose Headphones Secretly Collected User Data, Lawsuit Reveals

    No.

    The lawsuit alleges (innocent until proven guilty) that the Bose completely optional app - not the headphones - collects too much data and shares it with 3rd parties without the user's consent.

    Which is bad if true, but it is a far cry from the "your headphones are spying on you" that the headline claims.

    Unsurprisingly, Slashdot probably picked this up to take yet another a jab at Apple.

    Now, queue ignorant comments about how bluetooth headphones are tools of the devil, Apple is evil, etc.

    1. Re: sigh by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      iTunes.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  6. Ka-CHING! by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2

    Sure, this is not a good thing. But also remember, lawsuits like these are not filed by users who feel they were wronged, they are filed by lawyers looking for a good payout, it's a business plan. You, the user, will get a $25 coupon on an additional Bose purchase.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  7. You get what you pay for... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why would anyone spend $350 on a pair of headphones? I typically spend $10 to $20 for headphones.

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

    3. Re:You get what you pay for... by bmk67 · · Score: 2

      Why would anyone pay $1 or $2 for headphones? I typically rip them off.

    4. Re:You get what you pay for... by geekmux · · Score: 2

      I typically spend $1 to $2 for headphones.

      Those usually fall apart pretty quickly. The $10 to $20 headphones give me the durability I need for the year or two that they are usable.

      My Sennheisers are over 15 years old now. Paid $150 and they still sound great.

      Replacing cheaper hardware every year or two tends to add up, which confirms your initial statement; you get what you pay for.

    5. Re:You get what you pay for... by cayenne8 · · Score: 2
      I've had an older equivalent of these Shure earphones for about a decade and I love them.

      I think they were about $499 when I got mine, so, prices are fairly consistent.

      They give about as good a sound as you can get from a mp3 player while riding a bike or in the gym.

      I really like them, but won't be as easy to use on next phone unless Apple stops being "brave" and reconsiders the jack removal from new products.

      I think in some areas, you *do* get what you pay for...and I like to get as good a sound reproduction as I can when out and about exercising, and the way they seal your ears off, makes them great for flying on a plane and shutting out the noise (plane, babies, etc).

      My dog chewed up a pair I first had, and I found that the company was great and for $100 would replace them with a new pair which worked out great for me.

      Good thing God makes puppies cute.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    6. Re:You get what you pay for... by SoCalChris · · Score: 2

      Most people don't buy Bose headphones for their awesome sound quality. Most people buy them because they have reasonable sound quality, with awesome noise cancelling ability.

      I have a call every morning with my team in India. Because of time zones, that call is every morning while I'm on the train. I can't hear anything with regular headphones, and you wind up having the volume turned all the way up trying to drown out the ambient noise. With my Bose ones, I can keep the volume relatively low, and hear the conversation extremely well.

      Plus, when I'm not on a call, being able to put on some quiet music and not having to hear the sounds of the subway, the train, the guy on the train listening to music on his cell phone without headphones, stop announcements etc is great. That alone is worth the cost of the headphones to me.

  8. Bad, but not as horrible as one would think. by Old97 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In the article it says you can use the headphones without the app. Bose "encourages" customers to download and use the app with the headphones. That should give it away. Why do you think they want you to use their app? You can adjust the app settings - presumably what it can and cannot do. It seems what Bose did wrong was not be clear up front as to what the default result of using the app would be. That's not quite as bad as your smart TV spying on you if you connect it to your internet connected LAN.

    I'm going to recheck my microwave now. I wonder if I should down this GE microwave app.

    --
    Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok
    1. Re:Bad, but not as horrible as one would think. by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You answered my question before I even asked it: 'Why do you need an App to use wireless headphones?' You don't. You shouldn't ever, either.
      How fucked-up is this world, where you can't even get wireless headphones without the gods-be-damned manufacturer invading your privacy and selling your personally-identifiable information for profit?

    2. Re:Bad, but not as horrible as one would think. by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      TIL Bose has an app to go with headphones. Why is anyone's guess.

  9. Privacy Legislation by U8MyData · · Score: 2

    Anyone want to start a conversation regarding new privacy legislation where consumer electronics come into play? First, Comey saying there is no such thing as privacy any more, paraphrasing of course. Second, your browsing history up for grabs to the highest bidder. Third, this goes on and on. EULA is the devil in all details and should be abolished. When do citizens get to realize the bill of rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of what? Submission?

  10. Bad Headline by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 2

    The headphones aren't collecting any data. The App is, it's just another app selling your information. That's what apps are for!

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

    ... the headphones listen to you!

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  12. Re:They didn't do anything illegal by geekmux · · Score: 2

    I mean, ISPs can do it, so why can't they?

    Users of ISPs likely agreed to their monitoring via a EULA they didn't read.

    IANAL, but on the surface it appears that Bose fucked up by not even offering up a EULA for no one to read.

  13. Re:Poison the data well by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    Name: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.
    Mother: unknown
    Father: You killed my father. Prepare to die. Montoya
    Date of birth: around the 14th–17th century
    Age: 493
    Location: Five dollars per week, late fees of ten dollars per day.
    Occupation: Finding the six-fingered man who killed his father.
    Email: hellomynameisinigomontoyayoukilledmyfatherpreparetodie@gmail.com

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  14. BOSE = terribly privacy policy by linuxwrangler · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My wife bought a Wave IV Soundtouch with a 30-day return policy - the only good policy they have and the one we exercised.

    Want to set the thing up and use the features you paid for like Internet radio? You have to use the app. The first thing the app requires to even start setup is access to your location. WTF? Then there is their so-called "privacy" policy (which is currently so private that they have broken links on their site so you can't even find it now) that allows them to track your listening (which could even include AM, FM, CD, etc), combine it with other info and sell or use it for marketing purposes.

    In the words of my sound engineer friend: BOSE stands for Bring Other Sound Equipment.

    --

    ~~~~~~~
    "You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
  15. What evidence? by Chelloveck · · Score: 2

    I read the article and complaint. Lots of allegations of wrong-doing, but I don't see a shred of evidence presented anywhere. Maybe the legal complaint is the wrong place for a technical discussion, but I'd like to see some sort of evidence of the app sending data back to the mothership. Anyone know where to find a good technical analysis?

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  16. Re:Bob Heil by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    I bought Bose because they were in stores I could walk into and try them. I understand that they are not the *best* sounding headphones, but I could try them on and they were very comfortable. Also they explained to me how I could buy replacement silicone pieces (I lost them all the time), and how I could get a reduced rate on my next set of headphones as a trade-in any time. They have been with me for a great many years now. Currently I am looking at getting a Klipsche but I have no idea where I can go to try them. Maybe if I were in a big city there would be a place but I live in the other 80% of the country.

    So I guess to put it simply, the answer is customer service and honest sales techniques.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  17. Re:The app is required to use all the features by JohnFen · · Score: 2

    How can a pair of headphones prevent me from using my audio player to adjust the balance?