Are smartphones 'eavesdropping' on your conversations?

Do you ever feel like your smartphone is "eavesdropping" on you more than the manufacturers admit?

Imagine you were just discussing a new pair of wireless headphones with a coworker, and just a few hours later, ads for that exact product pop up all over Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

This phenomenon is not uncommon, many people have experienced the creepy moment when they realize what they say seems to have been recorded and used for ad targeting.

Stories like this have been shared for years, but no one has ever actually provided solid evidence that our phones are listening to us on purpose. In theory, these devices are not allowed to listen to users without their consent.

However, a recent investigation by journalists at the US media company 404 Media has discovered evidence that tech giants like Amazon and Google may be doing what many have long suspected: secretly listening to everything around us.

Targeting advertising through "active listening"

404 Media's investigative report focuses on Cox Media Group (CMG), a company that specializes in providing audio monitoring technology called "Active Listening."

It is a tool designed to record and analyze every conversation picked up by a smartphone's microphone. It then converts the audio content into data, using algorithms to identify important keywords, and then generates advertising suggestions that are relevant to what the user has said.

CMG has promoted the service as an advanced marketing solution and has partnered with major tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

While there is no clear evidence that these companies have actively used “Active Listening” in their advertising systems, the fact that they have worked with CMG may imply that they either have access to this technology, or are at least aware of its existence.

This raises big questions about how much surveillance tech platforms have over their users, and where exactly the line is between smart advertising and privacy invasion.

Not just smartphones "eavesdrop"

In fact, "Active Listening" technology is not limited to the microphones on smartphones but can also be integrated into many other smart devices such as TVs, smart speakers, and even Internet-connected home appliances.

Any device equipped with voice recognition functionality has the potential to be used to collect ambient audio, whether the user consents or not.

We're often reassured that these devices only activate voice recognition for a short period of time after hearing wake words like "Alexa" or "Hey Google."

However, if these devices are truly always listening even without a wake-up command, it means that every user conversation could be continuously collected and analyzed.

This poses a serious threat to personal privacy, as it opens the door to 24/7 user surveillance.

Not only that, if voice data is used to optimize advertising, our consumer behavior can be manipulated more sophisticatedly than ever before as what we say is no longer private but becomes raw material for companies to target advertising more precisely.

Companies deny they have engaged in "wiretapping"

When US newspaper Mashable asked big companies like Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft whether they knew about CMG's "Active Listening" technology and whether they actively used it to optimize advertising, their spokespeople were quick to deny it.

They assert that their company does not use this solution and has no involvement in eavesdropping for advertising purposes.

However, the fact is that this technology absolutely exists, and it would be naive to believe that tech companies aren't exploiting it, especially when it could help them increase ad performance and maximize profits.

History has shown time and again that large corporations are willing to cross ethical lines for commercial gain.

A prime example is Amazon Alexa, where users were initially told that their voice command recordings would be deleted immediately, but in reality, Amazon stores and sends these recordings back to their systems for further processing, leading many to question the company's level of transparency.

Today, first-party data, i.e. information directly from potential consumers, is becoming an invaluable asset to the advertising industry. As traditional advertising models become less effective due to privacy protections (like blocking third-party cookies), companies are forced to look for new ways to collect data to maintain precise targeting capabilities.

In this context, CMG's "Active Listening" technology can become an extremely attractive tool, helping companies continue to reach customers without relying on outdated advertising methods. The question is whether they can really resist this temptation?

What should you do to protect your privacy?

First, we can assume that, at least for now, your phone needs to be turned on for active listening to work. Additionally, for the microphone to pick up sound clearly, you also need to be close enough to the device so that your voice isn’t distorted.

Therefore, to protect your privacy, you should always assume that your phone is listening, even when you are not using it.

If your phone is in your hand, on your desk, or even just in your pocket, assume that the microphone can still pick up your voice. This means that if there's anything you don't want to be recorded or overheard, it's best not to say it when your phone is nearby.

If you want to chat privately without worrying about your smart device collecting data, take these additional precautions:

- Turn off your phone or switch to airplane mode to make sure the microphone is not working.

- Place phones and smart devices far away, out of the microphone's recording range.

- If possible, avoid Internet-connected devices altogether when discussing sensitive topics.

Additionally, a useful habit that not only protects your privacy but also helps you reduce your dependence on technology is to occasionally turn your phone completely off. This also helps eliminate the risk of cyberattacks, minimize errors, and ensure the best performance of your device.