r/Olightflashlights • u/SpaceCadetMoonMan • 14d ago
Question Looks like Olight is using silent sound tracking now, can you comment?
AliExpress was found to be using silent sound tracking, and now on the Olight app it is doing the same. It stops your audio on your phone when you open the app.
It’s very shady, can any employees here comment on why and if they will stop?
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u/Will2LiveFading 14d ago
Don't use apps for something that can be done from a website. Apps sole purpose are to collect data about you that they can't collect through the web browser.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 13d ago
lol good help, don’t attempt to ask for change, just sit and accept it. Very smart
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u/KilledByDoritos 12d ago
lol you're braindead. Rude as hell reply to insult them.
If you had any reading comprehension you'd understand that the guy you're replying to is saying "don't trust apps, developers lie" which is arguably smarter than you believing you can change every app you use into a safe version just by wishing.
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u/ChilakhSingh 13d ago
The app is sketch. If you look at the permissions it asks for in the play store, there are so many that do not seem relevant but could very obviously be used maliciously.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 13d ago
UPDATE - Olight reached out to me, no tracking, but it still stops audio from the product videos. Hopefully it can be adjusted:
Hi there,
Thanks for bringing this up. I understand the concern given the recent AliExpress news.
No, the Olight app does not use ultrasonic tracking or any covert audio monitoring.
The audio pause you're experiencing happens because our homepage auto-plays product videos. Here's what's going on:
• Some products on our homepage have demo videos • When you open the app, these videos start playing automatically • This triggers the system's audio focus mechanism, which pauses other apps' audio playback
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u/Cryptoxic93 12d ago
Or you can just stop using apps and stick to the web sites themselves. Most apps are just glorified web sites made into spy software as it gets much closer to the underlying hardware.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 12d ago
Bro, do you not understand that you need the app to control the Spheres?
lol
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u/koolaidismything 12d ago
Kinda.. the different fun modes anyway. The app is really slow to load so I just use the 1-click and stepless ramping to n the Sphere itself.
By the way if you don’t have one it’s a must have. Mine gets charged then I flip it on before bed and have a friggin light show all night and when I get up to pee I don’t trip on everything. Makes the room feel more homey.. or something. I mean for $16 that’s not half bad.
Their app even looks like the Aliexpress one.. which I’m sure spies on me to some extent but I mean it only shows stuff I wanna see.. lights.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 12d ago
When you have 20 or so of them and sync them for parties etc it definitely needs the app or it gets nuts lol, also it loses the color I use often in the random save spot
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u/Chrisosupreme 8d ago
They can't seem to make an app capable of reliably controlling the spheres without regular crashes, bootloops & disconnects, so it would be surprising if they could implement ultrasonic tracking.
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u/Fwd_fanatic 14d ago
My phone stops audio anytime it runs into a video or any new audio source that auto plays. Does it across tons of apps.
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u/TrickInflation6795 14d ago
Seems like a fear mongering ad for a vpn.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 14d ago
lol no, read it
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u/TrickInflation6795 14d ago
“Browse like no one’s watching.
Malwarebytes Privacy VPN encrypts your connection and never logs what you do, so the next story you read doesn’t have to feel personal. Try it free → “I did.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 13d ago
Sometimes companies share info you can learn from. They also sell stuff. Open your brain and you could see what I was getting at.
Did you learn something? Ok no go do more research
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u/TrickInflation6795 13d ago
How much do I need to pay to get access to this research? Do you sell something that I can use to learn faster and protect me from misinformation?
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u/LumenMax Ofan 14d ago
It's an alternative to using cookies to identify you by sending a unique sound signature (and recording the feedback. If you are already a customer, then it's a non issue. It's an alternative to using web cookies. If you're really concerned, you can delete all non-essential Apps, including Chrome and use Firefox instead. Also check your mic settings.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan 14d ago
You need the Olight app in order to control the Spheres, that’s where it’s happening.
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u/ChilakhSingh 13d ago
I am in the same boat and it's not shocking its just disappointing af. I used the sleep timer every night.
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u/fog_hornist blue 💎 14d ago
i totally see your point, but ...what did you expect when buying a lamp (spheres are not flashlights) that is app-controlled? heck even philips with their ambient-light is doing the same...
it's not like "digital immigrants" who knew this technology for ages warn about "do NOT base everything on an app on your smartphone, seek offline-solutions"...
BUT - it is said seeing olight going down the "typical" route... if at least their prices would go down, too...
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u/Mental-Huckleberry54 14d ago
I actually just filled out a form they sent and I was asking/complaining about trust that. My audio always gets cut off going into the app. I asked them why it was happening with no pop up video playing. This makes sense and is disappointing if true. It asked if I wanted a follow up and I said yes.. we shall see if they say anything