Does Your Phone Listen to Your Conversations? It Doesn’t Have To

Let’s say you have your cell phone on the countertop and share a pizza with a friend. You begin talking about local Italian restaurants and wonder which one has the best pasta. In the coming days, you notice that your phone starts displaying ads for delicious Italian cuisine in your area. Have manufacturers turned your phone into spy equipment for marketers?

It all depends on how you look at it. Even if we say yes, it’s probably not in the way you envision. You may be confessing your purchasing desires to your smart devices without realizing it. You’re probably feeding your phone information in the form of Google searches.

Can Smart Devices Listen to Conversations Without Your Authorization?

While it’s entirely possible, it’s also extremely unethical. It’s highly doubtful that telecommunications companies are stacking your phone with listening equipment just to make the job easier for advertising businesses.

However, most cell phone users leave their information lying around the internet for any erstwhile marketer to pick up. You even grant permission when you allow cookies to follow your browsing trail.

That’s right, you may be giving your phone permission to spy on you.

Let’s start with first-party cookies that harvest details about your activity on a website. Log in cookies save your username and password to make it easier for you to come back to the site quickly. They are prime examples of first-party cookies.

Third-party cookies refer to domains unrelated to the site you visit. They form partnerships with first-party websites to gain access to prospective customers. They then use this information to send targeted ads to your device. Sounds a bit Orwellian, doesn’t it? However, it’s a far cry from your phone intentionally recording conversations without your knowledge.

Third-party cookies allow websites to collect data and provide it to marketers — and they don’t need your permission to do so. All you have to do is accidentally click on the wrong pop-up to start seeing ads for products you can never envision yourself using.

This technology and information rights gray area allows advertisers to create a picture of your needs and desires. Companies always want to know how popular their products are compared to others for customers within a certain age group, certain sex, or in a certain income bracket, among other factors that influence purchasing decisions.

Companies don’t need to know who you are to predict your purchasing behavior. They don’t even need to listen to your conversations.

How It Works Behind the Scenes

Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, computers can use algorithms to filter your data. These techniques include classification, clustering, and reinforcement learning.

A reinforcement learning agent can use the information it gathers to train itself regarding your behavior. Let’s say you press like on a Facebook post. An RL agent records your interest in the post. This becomes one more piece of information marketers can use to personalize ads to your preferences.

If you start liking posts about yoga on Instagram, the system may start sending you advertisements for yoga mats and athletic wear. If you provide substantial information such as your email address, age, gender, and location, the cookies on your phone hit the jackpot. This information is shared by marketers and advertisers who already have (a sometimes microbially slim) relationship with you.

In fact, AI algorithms build a huge volume of data on your interactions with other members. This allows the social media giant to draw inferences from those you associate with on Facebook.

What About Your Privacy?

in theory, app providers must present you with terms and conditions about the collection and use of your data. However, it’s now up to you to carefully read through dozens of pages to determine whether you want to grant permissions to particular sites. Frankly, who has the time?

You can limit the permission that you provide to help curve this practice. For example, it makes sense to provide Facebook and WhatsApp with access to your camera if you pose to these platforms often. However, many apps also include other features and their agreement documents.

However, there are ways to protect your privacy.

Avoid Predictable Behavior

There are some simple tips you can follow to limit the amount of data you share online. First, you should review your phone’s app permissions regularly.

Think twice about saying yes to cookies on sites and apps you haven’t visited before. It’s also a good idea to avoid connecting to sites through Facebook and other social media accounts.

If you want to do more to preserve your privacy, consider getting a virtual private network installed on your smartphone or tablet. These apps hide your IP address and obscure your browser history.

Still Convinced Your Phone Is Recording Your Conversations?

Here’s a way to test out your theory. Use your phone settings to restrict microphone access to all applications. Then begin talking about a product that you have never search for on any device.

You may be surprised by the lack of ads that pop up in your email or on Facebook for the product of your deliberate subterfuge.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JEFF POIRIOR

Jeff brings 25 years of telecommunications and information technology management experience in voice and data networking, server support, and telephony and security; with a significant emphasis on customer service. Prior to joining Valicom, he was chief of the infrastructure support section for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Jeff was the vice president of operations for CC&N, overseeing telecommunications, help desk, data, and desk side support services. Prior to that, he served as the associate director of technical resources for Covance, responsible for managing systems and network operations supporting 1700 users in Wisconsin and Virginia. He has also led data center operations at Magnetek Electric, supporting mainframe systems, client/server applications, telephony systems, and computer-aided design. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University and a master’s degree in business administration from University of Phoenix. In addition, Jeff is a past board member of the Wisconsin Telecommunication Association.