Bluetooth is bad and you should stop using it | Mashable.

Bluetooth is bad and you should stop using it

Seriously. Turn it off.

Keep it off. Credit: OMAR TORRES / Getty

Everyone uses Bluetooth. Perhaps they shouldn't.

The technology that we've come to rely on to connect our phones, smart speakers, cars, vibrators, and toasters is problematic for reasons more serious than pairing issues. Bluetooth has been shown time and time again to be a security and privacy nightmare — albeit one that can be mostly solved with a simple toggling of an off switch.

You just have to decide to flip that switch.

Bluetooth has long been a dirty word for security professionals. So much so, in fact, that one of the most common pieces of advice given to attendees of the annual DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas is to make sure Bluetooth is disabled on their phones.

This is not just paranoia. In fact, at this year's DEF CON researchers showed off the ability to use Bluetooth to identify vulnerable digital speakers. Once identified, hackers could take control of the devices and force them to play "dangerous" sounds that could lead to hearing loss in anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Other Bluetooth-related concerns, while more prosaic, are still problematic. Earlier this week researchers announced a flaw that could allow hackers to both intercept and alter data sent over Bluetooth.

"[An] attacker is able to the listen in on, or change the content of, nearby Bluetooth communication, even between devices that have previously been successfully paired," explain the researchers.

That's not all. Just a few weeks ago researchers demonstrated how AirDrop can be used by malicious actors to determine your full phone number (which reveals a lot about you) due to the way Bluetooth Low Energy works.

It gets worse. As the New York Times and others have reported, many stores now use Bluetooth beacons to track the location of individual shoppers down to the inch. That information is often sold or given to advertisers, who then use it to build data profiles on unwitting people just trying to buy a carton of milk.

Essentially, keeping Bluetooth enabled on your phone at all times opens you up to potential hacks, abuse, and privacy violations. The solution is simple: Don't use it. Or, if you must, make sure to turn it off as soon as you've unpaired from the device in question.

That precaution may seem like a pain in the ass now, but any frustration that comes from repeatedly pairing and unpairing your gadgets pales in comparison to getting hacked or having your privacy systematically violated.

So turn off Bluetooth, grab some wired headphones, and enjoy the sweet sound of knowing you took a basic digital security precaution.

Comments

  1. Control of my cochlear implant and hearing aid are on my phone and connected by Bluetooth. I don’t really have much of a choice but keep Bluetooth functioning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep same with my CGM.🤷🏽‍♀️

      Delete
  2. Hackers can get over your BT vibrator and turn it into a Terminator T5

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    Replies
    1. they would have fun with that one lol

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  3. After iOS update, Bluetooth is default on. It’s very annoying

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry for the inconveniences, I saw your page here as a friend suggestion from Facebook for me to send you a friend request which i did, but it wasn't going through so i decided to leave you with a comment, please if you get my comment do me a favor by replying back or send me a friend request back, and also text me on messenger if that's okay by you.

      Delete
    2. Also noticed that text scan (for photos) was enabled after software update. Pretty alarming as we don’t know where the info from scanned photos is being recorded to.

      Delete
  4. Maybe update this article, it’s over 2.5 years old.

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  5. Everything is everything so we should stop doing & using everything 😆

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  6. It might be bad to use, but if you've got devices, like BT only headphones, you don't have a choice. So until another standard is invented, there's not really much you can do but to continue using it.

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    Replies
    1. wired. Headphones. Still. Exist.

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    2. true. But you have to buy adaptors for them since most phones now don’t have a plug in for it.

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    3. but not all phones have analog jacks.

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    4. Oh, yeah! - says the guy who still has a 6. My bad lol

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    5. most new phones don't have headphone jacks anymore. I think it's so stupid that they got rid of them but anyways 🤷

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  7. This article is brought to you by Mashable’s vibrator.

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  8. Then smash your phone!

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  9. How is this new news? This has been a thing since Bluetooth came out

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  10. Scientific analysis pls

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    Replies
    1. source: Trust me bro

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    2. nah "trust" is not scientific basis men🤔

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  11. Wäre schön wenn man mehrere Geräte gleichzeitig nutzen könnte

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  12. I already use Bluetooth to listen to deafening music, soooooo........

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  13. I only use it in work van

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  14. What's the Alternative?

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  15. How is this Elon Musk related

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  16. Old outdated info. 2019?

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  17. The spirit of PAN is incomplete without Bluetooth. 😅

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  18. FB is bad for you
    stop reading posts like this 😂

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  19. With my Bluetooth hearing aids…I feel so bad of the FBI hearing my weird convos 😂🤣

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your mom is bad for me, but I’m gonna keep using her!

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  21. There are probably highly trained ninjas walking around the very streets I do my daily shopping. Doesn’t mean I’m going to get kidnapped and held for ransom…. Just saying.

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  22. I love Bluetooth 🦷

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  23. 2019 article still relevant?

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  24. Mashable: Bluetooth can reveal personal information you may not want to provide.

    Also Mashable: Can we please have your email address?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://media1.tenor.co/images/2ad399e5c0d649becddf8f73cd78cdf4/tenor.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&itemid=15006455

      Delete
    2. At least Mashable asks for consent.

      Delete
  25. This seems to be a monthly article now….

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  26. Hey Mashable - just letting you know that posting this article for what is possibly the 6th or 7th time (I’ve lost count) has finally made me unfollow you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Recycling articles is bad and you should not do it. Bait click inside. 🤣

    ReplyDelete
  28. That’s a lot of fearmongering.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Really, you need a Bluetooth to connect to a vibrator??

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  30. Mashable is bad and we should stop reading it 😉

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  31. GRAPHENE PEOPLE HIDING XD XD XD XD XD

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  32. We all gotta die one day

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  33. Don’t you love how Apple doesn’t let us turn off Bluetooth (and WiFi) easily, forcing folks us dig into settings to do it?

    Essentially making it so it’s more likely to stay on, drain the pathetic battery, and increase our chances of our phones being attacked and hacked via Bluetooth/wireless..

    Not so secure and private.. apple………

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you literally that the icons in the swipe down menus to turn them off.

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    2. that doesn’t turn it off.. it will turn off cellular, but not WiFi or Bluetooth

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    3. you hold down on all of them and it takes you to the option to turn it all off indefinitely. There are four icons. Each corresponding to the turning off of whichever one you tap.

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    4. when you press cellular, it turns it on or off, either blue (on) or grey (off.)

      When you press WiFi or Bluetooth, it will go blue/on or white/on, but ‘disconnected,’ and doesn’t allow for another press to turn it off, like it used to.

      Apple used to allow this in the past, and that changed with an iOS update, as they want to encourage Bluetooth and WiFi on at all times so they can connect to more devices…

      Data = power/$$

      Am I misunderstanding what you’re saying?

      Delete
    5. you hold down on it to take you to the settings to turn it off.

      Delete
    6. ok, so i don’t think you understand what I’m saying.

      My point, is that, Apple changed how we can turn on/off/disconnect our WiFi and Bluetooth, making it so we have to go into settings to actually turn them off, which involve extra steps, vs what you said, swipe down and press one of the icons to turn it on/off/disconnect..

      Apple WANTS us connected at all times.

      Unless your using a much older iOS, it’s no longer possible to turn them off from the control panel, as you have to go to settings..

      This is an issue when one’s battery is draining fast, so people turn off the network cards they’re not using to save battery life.

      Apple made this more difficult to do, which is counter intuitive, but that’s how bad they want to keep us connected..

      This link sorta explains it.

      https://www.groovypost.com/.../ios-11-control-center.../

      Delete
    7. It’s so that your accessories don’t disconnect while making your device hidden from other devices. For eg, if I have an Apple Watch and my phone is connected to a speaker, by turning it off from control centre (blue to white) it will disconnect the speaker while still maintaining the connection between the Apple watch and the phone. Same goes for iPad and Apple Pencil as well as the Handoff feature if you have an Apple ecosystem. It doesn’t drain the battery because when the bluetooth icon goes white, it goes in Bluetooth LE mode which doesn’t practically affect your battery life. It’s a well thought thing for smooth operation between accessories in the same ecosystem.

      Delete
    8. removing the option to easily turn it off when the battery is low is not practical, and is annoying..

      I have an Apple Watch and Bluetooth headphones etc, but I still want to be able to shut them off the way it used to be, which is quicker and easier.

      Bluetooth LE mode isn’t better than off when the battery is an issue.. and if the BT is still connected to apple devices, it’s still draining power.

      The way you’ve explained it, when it’s in white, it can still connect to other apple devices, which means it’s still connected..?

      I’m going to check this out, because I’m not sure I’m even aware of that.

      This feature issue has really bugged me 😝

      Delete
    9. You can create a shorcut that turns them off completely and you can access those shorcuts from the shorcuts widget. I have those just in case. The page doesn’t allow sharing images. I was trying to share a screenshot of my Shortcuts widget.

      Delete
    10. nice, I’ve never used the shortcuts, but I’ll check it out.

      I think you get what I’m saying though.. it would be nice if Apple could be better.

      Delete
    11. I do get you but I believe they take decisions by looking at the entire scenario or like what would be easier for the majority. Your concern is valid, I agree. I was also annoyed at first but later saw that it indeed helped in maintaining a seamless ecosystem.

      Delete
  34. More anti technology BS

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    Replies
    1. they is nothing wrong with having cables. it's more reliable, less compression. I just want the headphone jack back

      Delete
  35. This article is from 2019!

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  36. Tell that to smart watches, smart scales, headphones and more

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    Replies
    1. yeah that's basically what this article is referring to lol

      Delete
  37. https://media1.tenor.co/images/5c8d5f6d83902a064971baa5009644e7/tenor.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&itemid=20017112

    ReplyDelete
  38. Do you know what else is bad? Not minding your business

    ReplyDelete
  39. Ketchup is bad too

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  40. If you know about the bluetooth problematic you also know that this article is ridiculous and totally exaggerated! 🤣🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wtf my blow up doll runs on Bluetooth 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  43. Guess we should all be alert. Going to Defcon 1
    Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Use the same tinfoil that you made your hat out of to wrap round your phone. Problem solved.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Literally read nothing in this article that causes me any concern.

    ReplyDelete

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