A few weeks back I called my wife and asked her about a charge on our credit card statement. “Were we still using a certain app subscription that we had agreed to cancel last year?”
For several minutes, we discussed swapping out that app on our family’s iPhones. And then, surprisingly, within minutes of ending that conversation, I started receiving emails for several competing products from other companies.
Yes, I was alarmed.
The crazy part about this situation was that I had never even heard of these other companies before, nor had I ever received these emails in the past. Furthermore, I had not searched for these companies, nor for any related topic using any browser. In fact, my wife and I had not discussed anything related to this topic (or application) in more than six months.
And no, I had not said, “Hey, Siri” or used any of the other words that most of us have become familiar with when asking for help from virtual assistants.
Indeed, that incident got me thinking a lot more about privacy and what else my phone was listening to and acting upon.
ARE SMARTPHONES LISTENING?
Depending upon who you ask, the scenario I described above can be either a common occurrence, a rare incident that was likely just a one-off, or completely a figment of my imagination.
But one thing is beyond dispute: Many thousands of people all over the world are talking about this topic. Here are some stories to consider:
The following is an excerpt from a recent episode of the CNN podcast Terms of Service with Clare Duffy, “Why It Feels Like Your Phone Is Listening to You.”
David Choffnes: “Online is we didn't find any evidence that companies were recording from the microphone or camera when they shouldn't.”
Clare Duffy: “That's right. David says they're not listening.”
David Choffnes “As far as we know, we're not seeing it.”
Clare Duffy: “David's experiment took place in 2017. Since then, most experts have basically agreed that our phones aren't listening to us, because they don't need to. We give up a whole lot of personal information that's useful for targeting ads just by using the Internet every day, often without realizing it.”
But on the other side, we have this article from Business Standard, "Is your phone listening? Marketing firm confirms tech behind targeted ads," saying the opposite:
“For years, people have noticed advertisements for products they recently discussed in conversation — even without searching for them online — suddenly appear on their devices. While many dismissed this as a coincidence or attributed it to targeted advertising based on online searches, it turns out there’s more to the story. According to a report by 404 Media, a marketing firm has confirmed that smartphones are not just tracking users' online activity — they are also listening to what you say out loud, near your phone.
“Smartphones might indeed be listening to our conversations, thanks to a technology known as “active listening.” This unsettling discovery comes after a marketing firm, whose clients include tech giants like Google and Facebook, admitted to using software that monitors users’ conversations through the microphones of their devices. This admission has raised serious questions about privacy, user consent, and the ethics of targeted advertising. …”
For some comic relief on this topic, check out this YouTube video:
HOW CAN YOU CHECK?
This past week, the Daily Mail ran an article entitled, "Revealed: How to tell if your phone is eavesdropping on your conversations."
"Cybersecurity experts have devised a simple test that will tell you if your phone is eavesdropping on your conversations.
"The four-step test, by researchers at NordVPN, begins with you selecting a unique topic that you've never searched for. …"
The chart below is from the NordVPN process:
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you determine that you are not happy with the results, consider following the advice from this Forbes article from late last year on "How To Stop Your iPhone From Listening To You."
“You can go to your iPhone Settings > Privacy & Security and check which apps have access to the mic. You can also go to Tracking and turn off 'Allow Apps to Request to Track.'
“If any apps are already tracking you on your iPhone, you can view and turn this off here.
“If you are extra cautious, you can disable Apple’s voice assistant Siri in your settings by going to Settings > Siri & Search > where you can turn 'Listen for Siri' off.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
For better or for worse, there is generally nothing illegal about using audio information to target advertising.
While it is obviously illegal to spy on someone without their consent, most phone users have given their permission for this practice without knowing, according to legal experts.
So my advice is to check on your situation and see if your values match your iPhone privacy settings. And to recognize that conversations at home and work may be shared with others if your phone is nearby during conversations or video chats.
