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PSA: Your Headphones May Be Spying on You and Selling Your Data Without You Knowing
(www.headphonesty.com)
I am pretty sure mine are not doing that. Glory to 3.5mm!
this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2025
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Privacy
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PSA: everything is.
News at 11.
The privacy issues come from the app, not the headphones. Don't use the app and you're fine.
General privacy rules apply: any data you provide will be stored and sold. If you tell an app your height, weight, etc, the company will sell that. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
The only interesting bit here is Bluetooth tracking, meaning people can see a unique identifier by being near a Bluetooth device. This is true for all Bluetooth devices (and honestly any wireless protocol besides point to point wireless), so not unique to headphones. If your phone connects to cell towers, your headphones aren't going to be the ones breaking your cover...
Bluetooth tracking is also bs. Nobody is walking around in pairing mode
Every device you have that has an app is harvesting ypur data to varying extents.
Sony's trick is hiding some configuration options in its app so you have to install it to make changes.
It the app that is phoning home, not the actual device.
Wired chads just keep winning, in so many ways.
They had to remove the ports to nerf them.
I'm still mad about it personally.
As we should be
Im not, i could buy an DAP that only plays music. Nobidy knows what i listen to. They don't even know aboht the anime folderi.
I have considered looking into an old school style MP3 player myself as well, I really might try and find one, or build one of those open source ones I've read about. Maybe the time is soon. But tbh I'm already carrying so much shit idk where I'd put it, between phone, vape/juice, wallet, and flipper I need all my pockets
Jesus Christ, is anything safe anymore? I'm about to break out my Discman and start burning CDs.
A couple of years ago, I found my old minidisc player and I've been using that for music. There's a FLOSS burning application made by the minidisc community that lets you burn discs from your browser. I've been enjoying my low tech music listening, knowing it can't be tracked by some algorithm. 💽
The disc burning software sends musicbrainz IDs to the man
Flimsy ass clickbait article. Wrong and misleading on so many levels
No, they don't and they can't even explode close to or inside my ear due to not being powered by lithium battery.