Yes… but also no.
Here’s a scenario: you’re having a conversation with someone about something — say coffeemakers. Shortly after the conversation ends, you see ads for coffee makers. Lots and lots of coffeemaker ads.
Was someone listening? Did they use what they “heard” to target you with advertisements?
It’s extremely unlikely for several reasons, but I know there are many people who are absolutely convinced it’s happening.
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Is my smartphone listening?
Smart devices are always listening for wake-up words like “Alexa” or “Hey Google,” but they don’t constantly share audio. Advertisements following discussions are usually due to data from other sources, like location or online activity, not device eavesdropping. For more privacy, pay attention to app permissions.
Always listening? Yes.
If you’re using a smart voice-controlled device like an Amazon Echo, or you have an assistant app running on your smartphone that responds to your voice, then of course they’re listening. Constantly. They have to listen in order to do what you expect of them.
They listen for certain wake-up words like “Alexa” or “Hey Google”. That’s the only thing they’re listening for. This is one of the reasons the number of wake-up words you can select from is so limited. (If it’s even configurable. Most devices aren’t able to listen for some arbitrary phrase you make up, though I expect they will someday.)
Once the device hears the wake-up word, it presumably sends the audio it’s hearing to the corresponding service’s server for processing so it can respond to your request.1
So, yes, the devices are always listening, but only for their wake-up words. Nothing goes any further until that word is heard.
Always sharing: no
Even though the devices are constantly listening, as I said, the audio goes no further than the device until it’s woken up.
This is easy to confirm: watch your data usage. Always sharing your audio would mean constantly uploading the audio to the service. That’s a lot of data, and you’d almost certainly notice, especially if it’s a mobile device and you’ve got a limited data plan.
You can also test it yourself, as I and friends have. Within earshot of the device you’re concerned about, have a brief conversation about something you’ve never discussed before, never searched for before, and never purchased before. Something you’ve never expressed any interest in whatsoever. Then see if the ads follow you. If they do, it’s almost always because one of those “nevers” I just mentioned actually happened.
It’s also easy for professionals to confirm. Tools like WireShark can be used to monitor network traffic. While the traffic itself might be encrypted, the amount of traffic and its source are easily determined.
Needless to say, in all the years these rumors have been making the rounds, no one has confirmed that your device is reporting your conversations.
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We worry a lot about privacy, but our concerns are often misplaced. Fortunately, the biggest risk to our personal privacy is right under our nose.It need not be a coincidence
There’s more data “leaking” from your device and activities than you might realize; audio need not be involved at all for your personal preferences and plans to be shared.
Let’s look at car shopping. You visit a car dealer, and shortly thereafter, you start seeing ads for that brand of car because your location was shared.
Or perhaps you make a purchase at a large department store and start seeing ads for things popular at that store — coincidentally, maybe even the product you bought. By and large, your location is always being shared.
Another example is research. You talk about buying that coffeemaker, and as part of that discussion, you grab your phone and do some online research. It’s not the discussion but the research that exposes your interest. Many people forget that a simple search exposes your interest. They prefer to believe the more sensational “always listening” conspiracy theory.
Sometimes it’s other apps
Particularly on mobile devices, every app you install to which you allow microphone access can misuse that access. I’d be shocked if it dovetailed into targeted advertising, but it’s possible.
The key here is to only install apps from reputable sources. Always take the time to understand what you’re installing. Pay careful attention to what permissions you give it. These are easy to overlook in the heat of the moment and the urgency of installing that latest new app.
Sometimes it really is a coincidence
And, yes, coincidences happen. They’re bound to.
But more often than not, it’s simply a result of information advertisers have collected that allows them to target you (or your device or your account) with ads specific to your interests. It gets spooky when those interests seem to be updated instantaneously.
Creepy?
Regardless of how it happens, it feels creepy. I tend to just laugh, but many people are concerned about what this type of occurrence implies.
I continue to maintain that you and I aren’t interesting enough for the expense of tracking us as individuals.
However, as anonymous people who visited a Toyota dealer or bought a coffeemaker, we’re very, very valuable.
But it’s not the audio that’s making that happen.
Do this
Of all the privacy issues you can worry about — and for many people, there are many — I believe you can take audio off the list. What we attribute to being listened to is explainable in some completely different way in nearly all circumstances.
Regardless, do pay attention to the permissions you grant these devices, particularly for data sharing. If there’s a way to restrict that without losing the functionality you need, it might be a good idea.
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Footnotes & References
1: I’ve heard unsubstantiated comments that they include audio from a few seconds before the wake-up word was heard for context. Not sure if I believe this, but it seems possible.
I keep the GPS turned off on my phone. I don’t do it for privacy. GPS is a major battery drain and unless I want directions, I don’t need it sucking the life out of my battery. But if privacy is a concern, you can turn it off when you aren’t using it. Also turn of WiFi when you are out and not using it. You can be tracked any time your phone is on, so I wouldn’t bother turning Location off for privacy.
Yes, the voice ad thing has happened to me after a phone call, more than once, but, I have found a big offender, of information sharing, is your credit card swipe. After I purchase something, such as my grocery list, those products usually appear in my YouTube ads.
Are you interesting as an individual? You bet! Your insurance company, wants to raise or cancel your premium. Your bank wants to micro-manage your credit worthiness, and your health insurance company wants to deny existing conditions, and sell your valuable medical info and DNA to the medical world.
Your personal data, affects renting a home, borrowing money, getting a job, and getting health insurance in the U.S.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
I was talking to my girlfriend one day and mentioned the radar detectors I have in each vehicle. The next day, I saw radar detector ads while online. This piqued my interest, so I went back into the same room and told my girlfriend what had happened. Then I did a little test. I started talking about condoms. Sure enough, the next day my online ads had condom ads in them.
There’s no way I would consider this a double coincidence.
I’ve yet to expand my search to see if the culprit is Alexa, Android or my smart TV. I just take somber solace in knowing it’s happening, despite who the guilty critter is.
I’m still skeptical. I have a hard time believing a corporation like Amazon would risk billions of dollars in fines for spying on people.
Try it a few more times and talk about something you’ve never used or consider using like snow shoes.
This has happened many times too us! Drive by a cemetery, husband commented “don’t you ever out me in one of these places”. Next day we get ads for cemeteries and burial plots. I can’t count the number of times this has happened for things that we have never searched or done anything related other than mentioning in comments. And I have all the listening tools on the phone turned off. We don’t use any listening devices in the home. It is 100% the phone listening!
Or it’s 100% the GPS showing you as having been near a cemetery.
I get messages from Google asking me how was this restaurant or shop etc. which I’ve never been to. Just walking by a place makes Google “think” I’ve been there. If I read the terms of service, I’ll see I’ve given them permission to use my location.
Using a conversation I’ve had without permission would be a serious crime. I can’t imagine Google, Amazon, or Microsoft to risk billions in fines and lawsuits.
A few months ago a CMG website had an advertisement, targeted to ADVERTISERS, that specifically and clearly said that it’s “Active Listening” technology would listen in on conversations on people’s devices and use AI to parse everything it heard and exract “Advertising Opportunities”, which it would then sell to advertisers. I saw the site. It was real, and terrifying.
The ad has been removed since. And it used to be available on the Wayback Machine website, but that too has now been scrubbed.
Now I’m the last to yell “wolf”. I believe in giving people and companies a second chance. And if this had been overstated or somehow not true, I could see it being removed from their website. But the fact that it’s no longer on the Wayback Machine makes it pretty clear that it was scrubbed.
As a side note, apparently CMG has been removed from Google’s “Google Partners Program”, and Google, Meta, and Amazon have denied involvement. Personally, I believe them. But that doesn’t mean CMG (Cox), Verizon, and other “big-names” aren’t doing it behind the scenes.
Your comment that it would be sending lots of audio data back home is just silly. Today’s phones and devices are absolutely capable of parsing the audio data using AI and only sending miniscule amounts of data revealing these “advertising opportunities”. The CMG advertisement said so specifically. I think you’re assuming it would send need to do this on-the-fly, but that’s not true. It can store it, parse it at leisure, and send the info back overnight and only when you’re on wifi. 1K of text is a LOT of info, and you’d never notice it. Not to mention compression.
Me, I’m a long-time Alexa and Google user, and I’ve seen nothing to indicate that either Amazon or Google does this. But others are very definitely doing it using other methods. Bank apps, Utilites apps (gas, electric, etc.), health apps & devices, and a plethora of other apps can be used for these purposes. After 2008, do you really think your bank has the moral strength to resist making a little extra money by selling data that THEY deem “unimportant”? No. Like a drug addict, they justify their misbehaviour with platitudes like, “It’s for our customer’s benefit!” And granted, it could have benefits. But they’ve ALL proven time and again that they cannot be trusted.
And remember, all this information gets dumped into the “Big Data” meatgrinders to not only sell you something, but to create profiles used by everyone – Advertisers, Law Enforcement Agencies, Domestic AND foreign governments, and even some shady “Watch Groups” (the cyber equivalent of “Survialists”). So even something like watching an off-color comedian who says something within earshot that “they” are on the lookout for could taint YOUR profile.
Orwell was niave by comparison to our current reality!
So I guess the real question is, how much are they paying you (and others) to try to squelch this? Just kidding in your case, I trust you. But some others? Not so much!
We get questions sent to Ask Leo! similar to that ad. They promise all kinds of questionable things. They are spam. It’s very possible that ad is just snake oil.
I sincerely believe that smart phones can listen in to your conversation. I’m not sure about Amazon devices since I don’t own any of them but I am convinced that people can listen in to your conversation on your iphone. I’m not sure of what technology they use, maybe a Private Investigator can tell you, or maybe they might ‘Gaslight’ you like the government and manufacturers of these devices are doing, but here is an example why I am convinced that others can listen in on your iphone conversations. I am semi retired in that I retired from my full time job about 3 years ago, but I still work part time. To make ends meet I drive for Uber. Driving for Uber is impossible without a phone. Your phone is were you get request from customers for a ride and also directions on where to pick up and how to get to your destination. One day I picked up a passenger and decided to start a converstaion. My passenger was easy to talk to so i felt at ease to run one of my corny jokes past her. Apparently she liked the joke and began laughing. I was pleased I made her laugh, maybe that would mean a big tip ! I had no idea that my joke was so funny that it would make the rounds around the rummor-mill in my hometown. So how did they know about this joke and about the conversation I had with a passenger . Easy, somebody was listening in to the conversation then they spread it around the neighborhood. Of course if i asked them I would just get Gaslit with a capital ‘G’. This is not the first time this happened by the way…
Or she liked it so much that she told a friend or two and they told their friends.And maybe they posted it on social media.
I was having problems with my hot water service. Needed a new heating element. The plumber asked me if I had ever replaced the sacrificial anode in the heater. I answered no (I didn’t even know it had one!) and he told me not to bother given the age of the heater. The next day in my Youtube feed there was a video on how to replace a sacrificial anode in a water heater. I had not done any searches on any platform. The jury is out for me!
Thanks Leo, sorry if it looks like we’re ganging up on you, but my personal experience contradicts what you’ve said, as I see others’ personal experiences also do. I have many examples but one that stick in my mind is this: As my friend and I were looking at my dirty, difficult to reach mosaic lead-light window I said, “I could try one of those spinning things you attach a hose to.” She replied, “Oh I’ve got one of those. Mine’s a (insert brand name here).” I actually forget the name now, but with an hour I was seeing ads on my Android phone for devices similar but not the same brand, which I later found out were no longer made. I live in Australia and we are particularly bad at managing the power tech companies have over us. The Australian government can’t seem to get ahead of tech companies, let alone the bad guys. I have other examples which lead me to think you may be mistaken.
I’m curious about Leo’s motivation to write an article such as this and express doubt that your cell phone is spying on you. On one hand, this is not a secret – everyone knows it and all the big companies behind all the apps tell you they use your data. Every app on your phone has, by default, set its permissions to access everything. And, in most cases if you disable a permission the app won’t work at all. They are telling you they want your mic, camera, pictures, contacts, location, etc.
On the other hand, so what? If you use a cell phone you should know nothing is private, and if you get abused via a cell phone you should not be surprised.
At this point in history this is a non-issue and there isn’t anything you can do about it anyway.
I can’t seem to reply to the comment on my comment, so I will post it here (I apparently have too much security stuff running to allow the window to open……)
This is what I am replying to:
“Mark Jacobs (Team Leo)
October 23, 2024 at 1:32 am
I get messages from Google asking me how was this restaurant or shop etc. which I’ve never been to. Just walking by a place makes Google “think” I’ve been there. If I read the terms of service, I’ll see I’ve given them permission to use my location.
Using a conversation I’ve had without permission would be a serious crime. I can’t imagine Google, Amazon, or Microsoft to risk billions in fines and lawsuits.”
MY REPLY: I have everything I can find concerning Google and location services turned off on my phone and laptop and for all apps that I can. I always deny any app permission to use my location. If it were just them using my location I should get more random ads for places I have been, but I have NEVER gotten any random “drove by that spot” ads. It is ONLY when we mention something by VOICE that we start seeing ads for it. We live out in the woods off grid, (but have a normal life on generators and solar) so when we discuss something at home and start getting ads, we are the only ones here, no neighbors, nothing but our cell phones to be listening! If it can be proved I will be first in line for that class action lawsuit!
Maybe it depends upon who you are, as in someone the DOJ is interested in or possibly a highly placed governmental official.