If you own a pair of wireless Bose headphones, or know someone who does, listen up!
Lawsuit: Bose wireless headsets are sharing your info
A complaint filed on April 19 in a federal court in Illinois alleges that when owners of wireless Bose headsets download and use the Bose Connect app on their smartphone, that app collects information on the users’ listening habits and transmits that information to third parties.
To make matters worse, the suit claims, that info is sent with personally identifying information — without the user’s knowledge or consent.
The plaintiff, Kyle Zak, argues in the complaint that Bose’s “conduct demonstrates a wholesale disregard for consumer privacy rights and violates numerous state and federal laws.”
One of the third parties allegedly receiving information, according to the complaint, is Segment.io, which promises on its homepage to help companies “collect all of your customer data and send it anywhere.”
What it means for you
If you own one of these headsets and have installed the Base Connect app, you are automatically a part of the class taking action in this suit. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
In the meantime, here are a few resources to help you better protect your privacy and personal information:
- How to reduce or erase your digital footprint
- How to see everything Google knows about you
- How to avoid credit card fraud
