Kamala Harris Doesn't Use Bluetooth Headphones. Here's Why That's Smart — And What You Should Do With Yours.

On Monday, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was photographed using wired headphones connected to a phone as she boarded Air Force Two.

This is not the first time Harris has been photographed using wired headphones. In her famous “We did it, Joe” call to President Joe Biden about their 2020 victory over Donald Trump, Harris is seen holding a pair of wired headphones in one hand. In fact, she has done several television interviews and official videos wearing wired headphones.

In 2021, Politico offered some insight into Harris’ headphones preference, reporting that she “has long felt that Bluetooth headphones are a security risk” and “insists on using wired headphones” as a result, according to three anonymous former campaign aides. (HuffPost reached out to Harris’ office about her wired headphone use but has not received a response.)

Now, we might not know exactly why Harris relies on wired headphones. But if it’s because of security risks, she is right to be distrustful of Bluetooth devices, according to cybersecurity experts.

Why Bluetooth headphones have security risks.

Bluetooth transmits data through the air within a certain range, which makes it inherently vulnerable to nearby threats, said security architect and certified ethical hacker Maril Vernon. She said it was “intelligent” of Harris to use wired headphones.

″[Harris’] physical connection is a lot more secure because it eliminates the risk of the wireless signal being intercepted, and there’s pretty much no opportunity for an attacker to eavesdrop on her conversation if she’s using the device and the headphones, unless they were standing right next to her and they could physically hear through her headphones, or they compromised her mobile