Although large technology companies usually deny that they use device microphones to listen to conversations for advertising purposes, there are cases in which some smaller ones miss it, as happened this year to Cox Media Group when promoting its software Active Listeningwhich uses AI for this purpose. Cybersecurity company experts NordVPN have addressed this topic and detailed a 4-step process anyone can follow to find out if their smartphone is spying on their private conversations to show adsaccording to Daily Mail.
Choose a theme that is unique and new
The first step of the test is to choose a theme that is unique and newthat is not related to anything you have previously searched for, shown interest online, or mentioned while near your phone. That is to say, something that wouldn’t normally appear in your advertisements.
Talk about the topic near your phone
Once the topic has been chosen, the second step is have several conversations about it near your phone over the next few days. These conversations should focus on the topic you chose and it is advisable to use specific phrases or keywords related to it that can activate search engines. Using key terms can increase the chances that your phone’s software or related advertising systems will respond.
Use your phone normally
Continue using your phone as usual during the test, but avoid interacting with any content that may be related to the chosen topic. Let everything depend on the conversations.
Observe changes in ads
Finally, after a few days of normal use of your phone, Pay attention to changes in ads. Take a good look at the ones that appear on your social networks, streaming services or any other platform connected to your device and look for those that are directly or indirectly related to your ‘secret’ topic.
If you notice ads related to your topic without having directly interacted with content about it on your phone, this could indicate that your device has been listening to your conversations.
NordVPN discovered that Ads started appearing on devices just days after researchers discussed a topic they had never looked into before. This process can be useful for those who suspect that their smartphone could be spying on them to better target advertising.
‘While we typically ignore them as innocent and necessary, they are a strong indicator that you are allowing your device to have too much access to your personal data and interests,’ explains Marijus BriedisCTO of NordVPN.
How to prevent your cell phone from listening to your conversations, on Android and iOS
You may feel your privacy ‘slightly’ invaded when you realize that your phone is listening to you and collecting data, but most likely You have granted the necessary permissions for this activity by agreeing to terms and conditions that are not normally read.
To protect your privacy and keep your conversations private, NordVPN cybersecurity experts recommend disable Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and any other assistants, plus check other apps with microphone access.
On Android
You can do it for all applications by following the path Settings > Security and privacy > Privacy > Privacy controls > Microphone access and deactivating this last option.
If you want to review which applications use the microphone, one by one, and select which ones you remove permission from, follow the path Settings > Security and privacy > Privacy > Permissions manager > Microphone and check the apps on the list.
On iOS
Select Settings > Privacy and security > Microphoneand check the applications with access to it.
To deactivate Siri, follow the path Settings > Privacy and security > Analysis and improvements > Improve Siri and dictationdeactivating this last option.