Bose headphones spy on listeners: lawsuit

[NWCorona]

Source: Reuters

Bose Corp spies on its wireless headphone customers by using an app that tracks the music, podcasts and other audio they listen to, and violates their privacy rights by selling the information without permission, a lawsuit charged.

The complaint filed on Tuesday by Kyle Zak in federal court in Chicago seeks an injunction to stop Bose's "wholesale disregard" for the privacy of customers who download its free Bose Connect app from Apple Inc or Google Play stores to their smartphones.

"People should be uncomfortable with it," Christopher Dore, a lawyer representing Zak, said in an interview. "People put headphones on their head because they think it's private, but they can be giving out information they don't want to share."

Bose did not respond on Wednesday to requests for comment on the proposed class action case. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company has said annual sales top $3.5 billion.

Read more: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17L2BT

[Thor_MN]

1. What is the BOSE Connect App?

I have Bose wireless headphones and they connect via Bluetooth to my phone, no app needed.

Since we have the lovely "open workspace" design at my office and the guy 5 feet in front of me hums incessantly when he is not talking a million miles an hour with 4 other developers (take your fricking meeting to a room), my headphones are a sanity saver - the noise cancellation really works.

[NWCorona]

3. The app isn't necessarily but it offers optimization features so there was an incentive to download

If you don't have it already loaded you should be fine.

[mr_lebowski]

2. Very much doubt that the 'wireless' aspect has anything to do with it ...

Anyone using any particular 'app' to play/stream music should be prepared (and probably already agree to it when installing said app) for their listening habits to be uploaded somewhere and therefore non-private.

You don't think ITunes keeps track of, and tells Apple, what you're playing when you use it? Spotify/Google Play? Windows Groove?

You'd likely have to use something OLD like Winamp, and be listening to only music physically present on your PC ... to avoid something like this happening. That, or seek out an app that specifically says 'Private Listening Only' as they'd market it that way.

[WhiteTara]

4. Won't this new law that allows selling your information

without consent make this null and void?

[NWCorona]

5. That's a good question but I don't think it will be retroactive.

Maybe they are trying to get it in under the wire?

[Blue_Tires]

6. Snowdenistas have been telling me for three years

that *corporate* spying/invasions of privacy are 100% ok, so meh...

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. Friends don't let friends buy Bose.

No highs, no lows? Must be Bose.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. You Know I Have Never Heard That

But, it's true. I remember the 901's and thought that the speakers i had at that time sounded better and there were around 1/3rd the price.

And their sound reinforcement system REQUIRED a subwoofer, and some people added ring bullet radiators for highs. We used them for stage monitors, but it was only vocals, a little guitar and little keyboard, so they were fine. But not for a whole sound reinforcement array.