Earphones focused on privacy
Hey guys! I'm looking for a new earphone and i just discovered that they collect A LOT of data actually. There is any TWS airpod that don't collect a lot of data? How can i have more privacy with airpods? EDIT: I just realized that airpods are Iphones thing so i just changed to the correct name.
25 replies
Do you mean generic wireless ear buds? Airpods are only made by Apple.
Updoot. It's pedantic, but idk why everyone started calling non apple earbuds "earpods". Y'all, we didn't have to make apple the default earbud brand too!
(Side note, I don't blame you OP. You are but a symptom of the issue.)
Is it pedantic, though? I was honestly confused. If someone was asking "What's an iPhone that doesn't run iOS?" it would be fair to ask clarification.
I agree its not pedantic, I'm also pretty sure that Apple owns the trademark for Earpods which means other companies can't legally use the term anyway, so why are we calling it?
It makes even less sense when Airpods are one of the most expensive buds on a crowded market and they only work on iPhones. It's not a Kleenex situation.
Damn! Thank you! Didn't know that airpods are a Iphone thing. But yeah, its the other ones.
Im a bit confused. How do you think they collect data? Its just a bluetooth device with no internet connection. Your phone might collect data, but how would your headphones?
Installing a manufacturer-specific app would give them access to a lot of data.
I mean you can just not install that app and they will usually work just fine. You can also install the app once to configure the headphones and then uninstall it again. I have never heard of commercially available wireless headphones with an open source app for them, so either just get ones that dont require an app or do what i mentioned previously. Unless you are willing to reverse engineer the app i guess :D I have moondrop in-ears and those come with a sus chinese app, but you can just configure them once and then you never need the app again.
There is an open source app for controlling Anker Soundcore products but it's not made by them and depending on which product you have, it might not support all features.
I've had a bunch of generic earbuds and have never even been offered an app. Which ones did you get?
Lots of wireless in-ears these days have configurable touch controls or even custom onboard parametric EQ. For that kind of stuff you need an app.
Fairphone make "Fairbuds"
Maaaaaaaaaaaaan everyone switching to that Apple style "pod with stick" format. The old format looked better imo.
The ones available to the US market are different https://us.fairphone.com/fairbuds
That's the old format (first generation)
It has technical advantages, it allows for a better antenna (afaik) and a (slightly) bigger battery. But aesthetically I don't like the design either.
It really did! But if all companies didn't try to replicate the biggest in market, we may have, gasps, product diversity!
WE CANT HAVE DEI PRODUCTS! /s (obviously)
This
Can you provide a source for them collecting data? I've never heard of it happening, and can't see how it's even possible.
Possibly Apple pushing their AI and integrating airpods with it, so it’s always listening. You’ll probably still be able to disable it by turning of Siri learning from it, but Apple makes it frustratingly hard to turn off their AI features.
Bluetooth broadcasts all sorts of device specs to everyone interested
Wired headphones are the only solution here.
I managed to find out that TWS stands for "true wireless stereo", meaning two separate buds each with its own battery and radio, that go into a charging case with its own battery. So 3 more batteries to fail in addition to the privacy invasions. Gack.
Tired: TWS. Wired: as it says, wired, as in wired earbuds.
Choose ones with Bluetooth 6