Welcome! This is a community for all those who are interested in protecting their privacy.
PS: Don't be a smartass and try to game the system, we'll know if you're breaking the rules when we see it!
Some of these are only vaguely related, but great communities.
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.
Most headphones work fine with just Bluetooth.
I've purchased a few devices in my day that will not work without an app and/or an account. I cry for 5 minutes about what a fucking dystopian future we live in and how I've lost almost all excitement for new tech and then send it back to where it came from.
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
Jesus Christ, is anything safe anymore? I'm about to break out my Discman and start burning CDs.
The disc burning software sends musicbrainz IDs to the man
This is why cassette is superior.
Tape wear creates unique magnetic degradation for fingerprinting which is measured with high accuracy equipment in public. They know you're not returning videotapes and the Phil Collins song currently on.
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. 💽
Can you link more info on this burning app please? I am interested in getting into MD.
Certainly! The app is located here. You do need a Chromium based browser (Edge, Chrome, or any browser based on the Chromium engine) to run it, though. This is a guide to help you get started with the app. And the site that the guide is on is a wealth of information about minidisc, both its past and present.
Enjoy!
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
You don’t need to be in pairing mode for Bluetooth to be able to track you. That’s not how beacons work.
https://www.inpixon.com/technology/standards/bluetooth-low-energy
Beacons don't track you. You track the beacons. That's why they're called beacons. The article is claiming beacons (or other bluetooth devices) could track you if your device was in pairing mode, which is not a real scenario.
I don't know too much about Bluetooth, but my understanding is that the MAC address doesn't change, so if that's ever transmitted, you can be tracked.
Someone will have to log it though, so I don't think that's nearly as interesting as cell towers tracking you nonstop.
They don't just transmit it while in use though. I guess someone could track where you were each time you paired it but as you said cell towers already track you all the time
I am pretty sure mine are not doing that. Glory to 3.5mm!
You fool - it's wearing a wire!
Flimsy ass clickbait article. Wrong and misleading on so many levels
Par for the course in the "all heightened anxiety all the time!" clickbait a.i.-powered era.
My 40 year old Yamahas aren't.
PSA: everything is.
News at 11.
No, they don't and they can't even explode close to or inside my ear due to not being powered by lithium battery.
ORLY???
