Just realized my phone's mic is always listening on purpose

I used to think the targeted ads for stuff I talked about were just coincidence. Then last month I mentioned needing a new vacuum to my neighbor in my apartment kitchen, and four hours later I got an Instagram ad for a Dyson. It freaked me out enough that I went into my settings and turned off microphone access for most apps. Has anyone else had that moment where an app creepily predicted what you wanted to buy?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray18924d ago

I read that some apps listen for audio cues, not full recordings, to serve ads.

kim37324d ago

@ray189 read ads are triggered by your mic data, not random guesses.

julia_carter7024d ago

Oh wow, that is creepy. I always thought those ads were just from my search history or something. So my phone is basically listening to me all the time?