Tin-foil hats might not protect you from this threat.
Audio giant Bose has been spying on customers that use its wireless headphones by using an app that tracks the music, podcasts and other audio they listen to, a lawsuit charged.
Bose, in turn, has been violating customers’ privacy rights by selling their info without permission, according to the federal suit filed Tuesday in Chicago.
The complaint filed by Kyle Zak seeks an injunction to stop Bose’s “wholesale disregard” for the privacy of customers who download its free Bose Connect app from Apple 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, Mass.-based company has said annual sales top $3.5 billion.
Zak is seeking millions of dollars of damages for buyers of headphones and speakers, including QuietComfort 35, QuietControl 30, SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II, SoundLink Color II, SoundSport Wireless and SoundSport Pulse Wireless.
He also wants a halt to the data collection, which he said violates the federal Wiretap Act and Illinois laws against eavesdropping and consumer fraud.
Dore, a partner at Edelson PC, said customers do not see the Bose app’s user service and privacy agreements when signing up, and the privacy agreement says nothing about data collection.
With Reuters
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