Why the account setup?

No I don't want to use voice control at all. I understand that they might need some datas for some new functionalities to work. But it's not acceptable to enforce data collection on all customers. I've not signed for this when I bought the devices and I expect them to continue to deliver the same service

I can read and I have already read all this. You can't opt out from what they call "functional data collection" and you now need to link to a nominative account. All this is pure marketing crap to suck datas from us. Technicaly this kind of system might be able to work completly offline. They certainly do not need to collect "information about wifi antennas, audio settings..." and require it to be linked to a nominative account to just be able to play music from a local NAS.

I was a big fan of their product and even make some of my friends buy some. But as the time go, the mobile app get worse and worse, the privacy policy worse and worse and we reach a breaking point with the lastest version where you are forced to link a nominative account. What can be be acceptable for a free service is not when you spend serveral thousand of dollar.

This is complete nonsense. Can you confirm that sonos is NOT using any subscriber data (like listening profile) to sell it to advertisers ?

To mike V you are dead wrong to jgatie same - the hardware no longer works without the update - I have the account - it FORCED ME TO RE-SETUP MY PASSWORD which ruined my entire setup including other apps - the FORCED CHANGE renders the hardware useless since you HAVR TO USE THE APP

This is complete nonsense. Can you confirm that sonos is NOT using any subscriber data (like listening profile) to sell it to advertisers ?

Sonos has publicly stated that they have not and will not sell your data to 3rd parties. See the statement right here in their privacy policy:

https://blog.sonos.com/en/sonos-privacy/

Sonos respects your privacy and your rights to control your personal data. Our guiding principles are simple. We will be transparent about what data we’re collecting and why. We will protect your data as though it is sacred. And we do not and will not sell your data to third parties.

The legal ramifications for breaking that policy, or lying about past data collection, would bankrupt them.

Jgatie you either work for Sonos it you are just totally clueless - you clearly are not a lawyer and looking at your history and posts I’m utterly horrified that you work for Sonos - you really need to qualify or validate your claims before posting - every response of yours I have read is garbage and the statements around legality and that are a joke

jgatie does not work for Sonos - those posters who do are identified as such under their name. So it's all jgatie's own garbage

But ultimately you are entirely free to do what you want and if that means a face without a nose then be it so.

The music services you use through Sonos - assuming you do use them - are likely collecting their own data about what you're listening to through their service, and THEY could very well be selling it.

But Sonos is not selling your data, and they are very clear about it.

I bought two Sonos One speakers a few years ago, which are not cheap.

I am now unable to use them without an account. I'm not adding a new speaker, I don't really want to update the software but I'm being forced to. I'm only trying to use my speakers the way I always have.

I will never buy another Sonos product and I will bad mouth your product whenever mentioned in company.

The music services you use through Sonos - assuming you do use them - are likely collecting their own data about what you're listening to through their service, and THEY could very well be selling it.

But Sonos is not selling your data, and they are very clear about it.

Exactly. Sonos is very forthright with their privacy policy, it is easily available and very clear about what it does and doesn't do. It also gives a reasonable and easily invoked opt-out for the majority of data collected. Unfortunately, this forthrightness makes them low hanging fruit for the tin-foil hat brigade, who should be worrying about services/products that have much more unclear policies and are selling their data left and right.

Same with the people complaining about the entirely optional voice services on Sonos, or the microphone that has a hardwired LED to tell you when it is listening. This is a concern for them, yet they carry around in their pocket an active microphone and dozens of apps that can use it anytime they want, apps which have far more intrusive privacy issues than Sonos.


>> he music services you use through Sonos - assuming you do use them - are likely collecting their own data about what you're listening to through their service, and THEY could very well be selling it.
Not the point. They didn't require an account before now they do. Before you purchase other systems you know if you need an account or not.

>> But Sonos is not selling your data, and they are very clear about it
Again not the point.

>> Same with the people complaining about the entirely optional voice services on Sonos, or the microphone that has a hardwired LED to tell you when it is listening. This is a concern for them, yet they carry around in their pocket an active microphone and dozens of apps that can use it anytime they want, apps which have far more intrusive privacy issues than Sonos.
And it is for those people to determine how to deal with that, but the know this when they buy the product, not after. Point in fact Android responded to consumer anxiety by allowing full controll over what apps are allowed do and not do in their new OS.

Ted

You created an account when you set up your Sonos initially. You have an account to post here.

Feel free to be outraged that Sonos require an account but know that you are incorrect when you state you didn't need an account originally

Add my name to the list of people who are unhappy with this update. Fortunately, it only came through on one device so far and my system (Sonos Playbar, Sub, 2 Play:1) has not been bricked or limited in any way. Yet. However, I'm stuck with the "Lets Get You Set Up With a User Account" screen and unable to go forward or backward, rendering my iPhone 6s unusable as a controller. I still have my Mac app running, and it hasn't tried to push me into an update - yet.

I don't buy for a minute that Sonos is doing this for our security. I'm pretty sure most customers here are savvy enough to have their devices hooked to a network behind a firewall. Some people want them completely detached from the internet in the first place. Many of us never use the streaming music providers, and many never will. I'm one of those people. I have all my own media on my own server, right here.

I also don't believe its necessary to destroy functionality on earlier equipment in order to make use of new functions on newer equipment.

I personally believe that Sonos required this account for one of two reasons:

1). To concentrate data mining on individual users with increasing precision. Not just the info you provide to them through use of the services, but also the information you provide to every single forum, company, or product associated with that email address. These companies communicate with each other.

2). To set the stage for a Sonos "subscription model" at some point in the future. Subscription models are the coming wave. Sonos wants to get in on that. Watch the price for the players drop, but Sonos will require an annual or monthly subscription to unlock the speakers. We might get lucky and see a "here's your basic services without an account" mode, but I doubt it.


When I was browsing the 9.0 app update thread - lots of angry people there, btw, for broken AirPlay functions and broken lock screen controls - I found out that this forum account was actually a Sonos account. Nice play on Sonos' part, sneaking in to set up a data grab. I checked the account info, however, and confirmed that there are no devices linked to this account.

For the people posting here who are convinced that you HAVE to have an email-linked Sonos account attached to registered devices, and that it was always that way - no it wasn't. I had the account on this site from when we were on the original support forum before the short-lived attempt at migrating us to that "one login gets you everywhere" platform, and I was active here for over a year prior to getting my Sonos HT. When I brought the system home, I did the required server registration but that was it. The app asked me if I wanted to link an account, but it allowed me to defer that "for later". I never linked the account. You can keep saying it all you like, but it wasn't required back then.

I've been watching a few companies move towards the subscription model and they all start out with popular products that people flock to, followed by user accounts for full features, followed by mandatory accounts.

A couple of guys here keep posting the line "Sonos will never sell your user data - why its right here on the agreement". Should we get the warm fuzzies from that statement? "Well, gosh why didn't I see that before? Gather away, Sonos my old cherished friend!" You guys are obviously not lawyers and have no idea how to read these statements. When they say they "gather data for various reasons, such as..." your brain is telling you "these are the ONLY reasons they collect this info", but what they're really saying is "here is a typical case", aka "including, but not limited to". Never once do they say, "These are the only reasons why we want your data".
As far as selling the data, you're right, and they're not lying. Sort of. Re-read what they actually say:

"When it comes to using your information, our principles are simple. We will be transparent about what data we’re collecting and why. We will protect your data as though it is sacred. And we will not sell your data. We’ve never sold it before, and we won’t sell it in the future."

Translate that through the lens of what I said above. They're really saying "Your data is incredibly valuable to us. We explained some cases why we want your data, but we haven't disclosed all of them. We promise not to sell it directly, but we'll gladly find other ways to use it and eventually profit from it without telling you."

They aren't selling it. But they are gathering it, and they are allowed to share it without running afoul of the agreement - provided they aren't directly profiting from it. Plus, once the information is shared with third parties, those parties are not governed by your user agreement. The information gathered is incredibly valuable, and much more so the longer it is gathered, and even more so when it is combined with other data gathered on us users via tracking usage patterns on the very email address you have attached to the account.. I really don't want to go off on a tangent about what they're doing with the information, but they shouldn't have this much access to our lives, especially using subterfuge like "it worked yesterday but it won't work tomorrow unless you give us more info".

Just bought another device as a gift for my old school and we can’t use it because it requires signing in and we can’t get internet access on the speaker(just used local library and it worked just fine for 2 years). Probably going to return it since it’s essentially useless.Internet access is needed for set up, and always was, but not to play local music. I have checked this today, playing music from my phone and NAS drive after disconnecting my router from the internet.

I'd just like to remind everyone here to and review their products as 1 star on amazon. Or really on any site that allows reviews. There are no product managers or engineers or C-suites here in the forums.

And do what I did: refuse to buy another Sonos product.