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I still don’t think companies serve you ads based on spying through your microphone (simonwillison.net)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

199 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Not my title! I do think we are being listened to. And location tracked. And it's being passed on to advertisers. Is it apple though? Probably not is my take away from this article, but I don't trust plenty of others, and apple still does

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Calm Down—Your Phone Isn’t Listening to Your Conversations. It’s Just Tracking Everything You Type, Every App You Use, Every Website You Visit, and Everywhere You Go in the Physical World

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

phew

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Except it is also listening. This was a minor scandal back in September. I believe Cox media has since been dropped by Facebook and Google and such, but it happened.

What's Happening: In a pitch deck that has surfaced since the initial story broke out, Cox Media Group (CMG), a digital marketing outfit based out of Atlanta, Georgia, was spotted touting “the power of voice” in a pitch. In it, they outlined how they can use AI to collect and analyze voice data from users through more than 470 sources.

https://news.itsfoss.com/ad-company-listening-to-microphone/

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That article covers a pitch deck by an ad agency with absolutely zero detail of how it works.

If this is happening, it should be easy to test.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

According to the company, CMG Local Solutions’ access to advertising data based on voice and other data is collected by third-party platforms and devices “under the terms and conditions provided by those apps and accepted by their users.”

In the since-deleted blog post, CMG Local Solutions discusses whether Active Listening is legal. “We know what you’re thinking. Is this even legal? The short answer is: yes. It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page terms of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included,” the company said in the post.

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/active-listening-marketers-smartphones-ad-targeting-cox-media-group-1235841007/

[–] priapus 6 points 3 days ago

Apps still need mic permissions to do so. Many Android ROMs include notices when the mic is being used, it would be very easy to tell if an app was actually doing this.