Smartphones listening to what you say? You may be among the many people who believe that the conversations they have on their smartphones lead to seeing ads.
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Many people online related to products or services that they could have discussed with other people in real life. Or may you know people who think this?
The conspiracy theory will probably never go away, even if most iPhone and Android devices can't spy on you.
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They have built-in privacy protections that show when and if your device's microphone is in use.
That being said, there is a brand new report you should check out. A marketing company claims in now-deleted marketing materials that it uses AI to listen to people speaking near devices such as smartphones, smart speakers and smart TVs.
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AI is involved in the process, which results in more accurate targeting than traditional methods of tracking users' interests online.
Considering the current technological landscape, these are pretty absurd claims, and I'm inclined to believe that the marketing company in question is simply exaggerating their abilities.
Either that or something more nefarious is going on, especially with the other types of smart devices mentioned.
Can smartphones eavesdrop?
I don't think any marketing company can use advertising technology to spy on modern smartphones.
The iPhone has protections against this, and I think it's unlikely that a marketing company's software will overcome this. Newer Android phones also show microphone access.
And I would be equally surprised if a marketing company's software could bypass this security.
I should point out that voice assistants on iPhone and Android are always listening to your voice input. But they pay attention to the keywords that trigger them, like “Hey, Siri” on the iPhone.
It is very unlikely that a marketing company will be able to exploit such resources. And you can always turn them off.
As for smart speakers and smart TVs, I could see scenarios where such efforts would be possible. A company could take advantage of a software loophole that would give it uninterrupted microphone access.
In turn, the use of AI would allow us to capture voice data and build advertising profiles for some users. How would they target ads to these users? This is not yet clear.
Active listening technology
The wild claims come from a marketing team at media giant Cox Media Group (CMG), according to documentation that 404 Media found online (via 9to5Mac).
It's important to note that CMG appears to have deleted these claims from its website. They probably don't know that you can't delete things from the internet.
CMG claims to have access to microphones on smartphones, smart TVs and other devices through a technology called “Active Listening”.
With it, CMG can spy on conversations in real time for advertising purposes. It's unclear how the technology would work, and the documents don't mention any type of device that might have the CMG software installed.
“What would it mean for your business if you could reach potential customers who are actively discussing their needs for your services in their everyday conversations?
No, it's not a black mirror episode – is voice data, and CMG has the resources to use it to benefit its business,” the company said, according to a saved document.
It looks as scary as a black mirror episode, assuming the technology works. CMG claims it can allow businesses to target exactly the shoppers they want in specific areas close to the advertiser.
I said a few days ago that Google's Gemini technology could someday be used to create incredibly accurate profiles for advertising purposes.
That's not what CMG's supposed technology is, but it's still scary if it works. CMG says: “Active listening begins and is analyzed using AI to detect pertinent conversations through smartphones, smart TVs and other devices.”
Ads are then served through streaming TV, audio, display ads, YouTube, Google and Bing Search.
Someone should investigate these allegations
Most disturbingly, the marketing materials CMG uses state that such listening behavior would be legal, since customers agree to have their phones listen to them when they accept the terms of use for software updates and application downloads.
404 Media it also details the experience of a marketing professional to whom CMG introduced spying technology.
Apparently, they disabled microphone access on their devices after that.
“I immediately removed all of my Amazon Echo devices and blocked microphone permissions on things like my phone as receiving confirmation that they are doing things like this confirmed my worst fears and I, for one, will not participate in this,” they said .
"Disgusting? Clear. Great for marketing? Definitely”, says a document that shows part of the CMG website pages, now deleted. Everything about this certainly sounds scary.
Either this is all made up or someone will have to investigate these allegations. Because if they are real, there is a lot to explain.
