They (basically any large online retailer or advertiser) are, in fact, listening to everything you say near your phone, near your alexa, your echo, your smart device.
Linking heard words and phrases with your known shopping activity + a gigantic dataset + statistical analysis = they can predict all kinds of things about you, with shockingly high accuracy, and thus aim products at you.
You know how archaeologists and detectives can make a decent profile of a person or group’s daily lifestyle by analyzing your garbage?
Welcome to the cyberpunk dystopia version of that.
Both links are paywalled, but if I’m remembering correctly, that company (CMG) eventually had to correct their claim that phones were actively listening to everything you say. It was an overzealous marketing guy trying to oversell. They admitted in the end that they use the same info that data brokers have on you based on data gathered from your browsing and other activity, not from actively listening to you.
Siri for example is designed in a way where it “listens” for your voice to call it, but that mechanism is completely separate from the actual Siri that connects to the internet to understand you.
Besides the fact that present-day battery technology makes this impossible, modern smartphones display a very obvious indicator when apps are using the microphone.
Hotword detection notwithstanding, as that happens at the hardware level.
In case people forgot:
https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/active-listening-marketers-smartphones-ad-targeting-cox-media-group-1235841007/
https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/
They (basically any large online retailer or advertiser) are, in fact, listening to everything you say near your phone, near your alexa, your echo, your smart device.
Linking heard words and phrases with your known shopping activity + a gigantic dataset + statistical analysis = they can predict all kinds of things about you, with shockingly high accuracy, and thus aim products at you.
You know how archaeologists and detectives can make a decent profile of a person or group’s daily lifestyle by analyzing your garbage?
Welcome to the cyberpunk dystopia version of that.
Both links are paywalled, but if I’m remembering correctly, that company (CMG) eventually had to correct their claim that phones were actively listening to everything you say. It was an overzealous marketing guy trying to oversell. They admitted in the end that they use the same info that data brokers have on you based on data gathered from your browsing and other activity, not from actively listening to you.
Siri for example is designed in a way where it “listens” for your voice to call it, but that mechanism is completely separate from the actual Siri that connects to the internet to understand you.
It would drain your battery like crazy if your phone would actively listen, transcribe and transmit whatever your say.
I love that Siri is kinda stupid for just this very reason.
Besides the fact that present-day battery technology makes this impossible, modern smartphones display a very obvious indicator when apps are using the microphone.
Hotword detection notwithstanding, as that happens at the hardware level.
I’m still waiting for a single targeted add to be something I want, the best they’ve done so far is try and sell me things I already own.
There’s a lotta Apple hate on this site, but I really do appreciate their stance to apps using the camera and microphone.