Dennis Hackethal’s Blog
My blog about philosophy, coding, and anything else that interests me.
Success! You can now read the full article below. Be sure to save it to PDF before leaving or refreshing the page!
Need help? Email me and be sure to include this reference number:
Your audio devices might divulge your private information. Here's how to protect yourself.
Websites can track you based on your audio devices. Depending on the names of your devices, you may also be making yourself more easily identifiable to websites.
Say your name is John Appleseed, so you name your AirPods 'John Appleseed's AirPods'. If you have given a website permission to use your microphone and you have your AirPods connected, the website now knows your full name. I noticed this while using a site earlier today. Once I had connected my AirPods, it displayed their name back to me.
Apple's naming convention is '-first name-'s AirPods'. That's what they're named automatically when you first set them up. It's better than the full name, but you may not want websites to know your first name, either. If you have a common name, divulging it may not seem like an issue, but it still narrows a website's visitors down a significant amount.
To be sure, not every website will have access to the names of your audio devices – only those websites you give permission to use your microphone. But just because you let a website use your microphone does not mean you want it to know who you are, let alone track you.
Here's the proof. It only takes a single line of code for a website to list the names of all your audio devices once you've granted access to your microphone. Don't worry if you don't understand the code, just focus on the second and following lines where the device names are listed:
But wait, there’s more!
You’re reading a preview of this Pro article. Pro articles are written with exceptional care and provide additional value. Purchase the full article for only USD 0.99.
Clicking this button will load the payment form. Stripe, the payment processor, may use cookies or cookie-like technology.
Learn more
Is this secure?
Yes. Your credit-card details are handled securely and in a PCI-compliant manner using the trusted payment processor Stripe.
What about privacy?
Your privacy matters to me. For this reason, I’ve decided to provide one of Stripe’s payment forms that’s more complicated to implement but increases your privacy. When you purchase an article, I do not see your name or contact information. However, Stripe does show me your card type, expiration date, issuing financial institution, country, last four digits of your credit-card number, your postal code (if you’re in the US), IP address, internet service provider, operating system, browser, device brand, device model, your card’s average transaction amount, the standard deviation for your card, and ancillary information, including but not limited to whether your card is a debit and/or prepaid card. I will not sell that information. I can’t even associate it with you unless you send me an email that divulges your name. If that is a concern, email me from an anonymous email account. If divulging your IP address is a concern, use a VPN before purchasing an article. Stripe may show me more information about payments in the future, and I’ll have no control over that. They may also have more visibility into your data. I recommend checking their privacy policy.
What if something goes wrong?
If, say, due to technical issues, or for whatever other reason, you cannot see the full article after purchasing it, simply email me and I’ll send you a copy. Please include your reference number starting with ‘pi_…’, if you have it. That reference number is shown to you right after you make the purchase.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. If you purchased an article and didn’t like it, email me and you’ll get a full refund, no questions asked. I will need the reference number starting with ‘pi_…’ to process the refund. That reference number is shown to you right after you make the purchase. Write it down carefully – I am unable to issue refunds without this reference number.
Can I share the full article with others?
The full article is copyrighted and only for your own, personal use. As such, you may not share it with others beyond what’s previewed before purchasing it. However, you are more than welcome to share a link to this page so others can purchase the article, too.
What people are saying