Bose Headphones Could Be Spying On Its Users, Wiretap Lawsuit Claims

Bose has been hit with a class action lawsuit that accuses the audio-maker of wiretapping its customers through its headphones app, documents uploaded by Fortune show.

The company, which sells wireless headphones priced $250-$350, allegedly had access to information on customers’ listening habits without their consent. The lawsuit was filed in Illinois this week by Kyle Zak, who bought Bose’s QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones last month for $350.

The lawsuit accuses the company of violating the WireTap Act and other privacy laws by “secretly collecting, transmitting and disclosing its customers’ private music and audio selections to third parties, including a data mining company.”

Bose allegedly spied on customers through the Bose Connect app, which can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store onto smartphones. The app is linked up to users’ headphones and ask an owner to register headphones by providing name, address, phone number and the product’s serial number.

“Customers must download and install Bose Connect to take advantage of the Bose Wireless Products’ features and functions,” the lawsuit states. “Yet, Bose fails to notify or warn customers that Bose Connect monitors and collects — in real time — the music and audio tracks played through their Bose Wireless Products. Nor does Bose disclose that it transmits the collected listening data to third parties.”

The suit claims personal audio selections, including music, radio broadcast, podcasts and audio book, share an insight into an individual’s personality, behavior, political views and personal identity.

The lawsuit elaborated on users’ private information saying:

“For example, a person that listens to Muslim prayer services through his headphones or speakers is very likely a Muslim, a person that listens to the Ashamed, Confused, And In the Closet Podcast is very likely a homosexual in need of a support system, and a person that listens to The Body’s HIV/AIDS Podcast is very likely an individual that has been diagnosed and is living with HIV or AIDS. None of defendant’s customers could have ever anticipated that these types of music and audio selections would be recorded and sent to, of all people, a third party data miner for analysis.”

Other Bose products also mentioned in the lawsuit are the SoundSport Wireless, Sound Sport Pulse Wireless, QuietControl 30, SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II and SoundLink Color II.

Zak is looking to represent other Bose headphone customers over illegal data mining accusations.