AFAIK, they do not require the app, but it significantly enhances their functionality. A phone is a tracking device (even with VPN enabled), so I'm not too worried about it. I would not use it with a bug-out phone, but that's an entirely different discussion.
Discussion
Yeah, that's fair. I was just curious. Not really a fan of in-ears overall, but I've been using them a bit more recently and getting a better pair would be kind of nice.
The first week I had them, I was not used to the conch fit, and my ears were a little uncomfortable with extended use. Two weeks later, it completely went away. When the dog eliminated my first pair a couple of weeks ago, I tried to go back to my old Apples (I used to love the fit) as a stop-gap, and it was like night and day. I can't imagine going back at this point, so I bought them again, and it's like a warm (sound) bath. IMHO, you can't beat them at this price range.