Whoops … something that I had never noticed before about HP printers.
The HP cartridges used with this product contain a memory chip … this memory chip collects … information, which might include the following:
the date when the cartridge was first installed,
the date when the cartridge was last used,
the number of pages printed using the cartridge,
the page coverage,
the printing modes used,
any printing errors that might have occurred, and
the product model.
Might include? But not limited to?
It goes on to say
The data collected from the cartridge memory chip does not contain information that can be used to identify a customer
But do you trust them? And can it be re-identified even if the manufacturer is acting in good faith?
HP collects a sampling of the memory chips from cartridges returned to HP’s free return and recycling program
Any third party possessing the cartridge might have access to the anonymous information on the memory chip.
You can (ostensibly) disable this with Setup / Preferences / Cartridge Chip Info.
NOTE: You can continue to use the cartridge in the HP product if you turn off the memory chip’s ability to collect the product’s usage information.
So … environment v. privacy - unless you trust them.
Hmmm. Roll on the (very hypothetical) Purism printer or any open printer. e.g. Open hardware printer
I do at least (attempt to) block the printer’s access to the internet via the firewall but this is a more subtle source of leakage that I had overlooked. And apologies to all who already knew about this.
It is strange to me in hindsight how dystopian printers seem to be. Printer tracking dots - Wikipedia was ludicrous to me when I heard that is real, partly because it is so believable (technologically feasible) and yet I wish it were not being done in a free country.
In a world of informed consumers and devices that do for consumers what consumers want, I cannot imagine that people want to have their printer encode tons of secret information about them in minuscule dots in everything they print, and then record what they printed into the ink cartridge so that somebody could back it out later when the cartridge is thrown in the trash. I cannot imagine that people want to have a memory module in their ink cartridge. It ought to just be a container of ink, like a pencil.
Or do pencils have spyware in 2026 too, to spy on the children, and I simply never looked it up? I guess I never thought of that; why don’t pencils have memory modules to record everything you write with them?
I generally like Brother USB laser printers, I cant get full res 1200dpi vs 300dpi as it needs to stream into memory, foss drivers dont know how to do that. But it makes great prints, I would love to rip out the controller and replace it with one of my own, I hate having to do the reset protocol to get the printer to forget that it wants me to replace a partly full toner cart.
NASA spent a lot of money to develop an pen that could write in zero gravity. They were commercially available by Fisher Pen Co. at $3.98 in 1969. The Soviets bought 100 of them and 1000 pressurized cartridges at a 40% discount, the same price as NASA.
Prior to that, the Soviets used a pencil.
Given the same software, how much core memory would that pencil need in 1969?
While my starting point was HP, the exact same question could come up about any make of printer: How dodgy are the cartridges?
What is stored? Is it disclosed? Have you looked at the cartridge? Has a qualified expert looked at the cartridge? Have you at least read the User Guide?
In the case of HP, you would think that they could at least encrypt the info so that (theoretically) only they could decrypt the info but, as disclosed, that is not the case. (Here, it is more commonly the case that people surrender used print cartridges to third parties, rather than returning direct to manufacturer.)
This whole thing, once you know about it, is a pretty obvious attack vector.
I note with amusement that (at least some models of) HP printers have a different cartridge model number for China. I expect that the purpose of that is anti-trade dodgy pricing but you never know …
For starters though, look at the manual for your specific make/model and see whether it even discloses anything about “Cartridge Chip Info”.
Secondly, look at the menus on your specific printer and see whether the above-mentioned preference even exists.
We would have to be honest though that just because the manual discloses nothing and there is no way in preferences to turn it off, does not mean that the spying / data leak functionality is absent.
I offer weak evidence - by no means exhaustively verified because I simply don’t have enough printers and because of my opening question and of the previous para - that the OfficeJet range might lack this spying / data leak functionality.
You could mention here your specific printer model or message me privately with that info, or do one of those in respect of the cartridge model. (Presumably this spying / data leak only works if supported by both the cartridge and the printer.)
Before I get into anything about the model, for me the strangest part was that upon ripping up the cartridge, there was not anywhere what I would have considered to be a sufficiently large chip for memory storage. There was a small black component about the size of the tip of a pen, and not much else. How small can a memory module be?
But I am pretty sure my Brother toner carts have no logic inside nor connectors. As long as I can reset the printer(a series of power button holds and cart bay openings) and I can reset until the cart is really empty and gets white streaks in prints.
and because of my opening question and of the previous para - that the OfficeJet range might lack this spying / data leak functionality.