Myth or Reality: Is Our Tech Listening?

What's the story?

• As technology has become more advanced, accessible, and personalized, many have noticed increasingly targeted ads, making the public ask, are our phones listening to us? 
• It's a common conspiracy theory that companies use our phones and tech items to listen to our conversations to gain data on which ads to show us. Many news outlets and leaders of the tech industry have said this isn't true. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has even denied the claims under oath. So, what leads people to believe this is true, what do experts say, and are there any tech products that do listen to our conversations?

The evidence

• While it's true that our personal data is used for targeted ads, most experts agree that, no, our phones don't listen to us. Eric Seufert, founder of marketing consultancy Heracles Media, said it's mainly "an old wives' tale." He continued:

"It's this kind of mythical, horrific, but ultimately untrue, fear."

• It's true, however, that companies have an uncanny ability to show us ads relevant to our everyday lives. This information is accumulated through our search histories, in-app interactions, past purchases, online profiles, and more, which companies sell to advertisers. Advertisers then use this information to show us ads that match our interests.
• Casey Oppenheim, co-founder and CEO of Disconnect, an app that blocks targeted ad "trackers," said that companies don't just collect fragments of your personalized data, but build profiles of you. These profiles allow businesses to make inferences about you based on the data they've collected. 
• Many consumers are also concerned about their smart speakers, such as Alexa. To get to the bottom of this, Consumer Reports and researchers at Northeastern University designed an experiment to see how closely, if at all, Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's Siri listen to our conversations. 
• The researchers found that Alexa, for the most part, obtains marketing data when you're directly talking to her about what you need to buy. Siri, on the other hand, did not pick up on voice data to give to targeted ads. Lastly, the researchers found Google Assistant was inconclusive, not giving any clear evidence that it listened to your convseravations. 

An expert's privacy tips

• Oppenheim recommends using a browser with tracking protection and installing a tracking protection app on your mobile device. 
• Using a private browser when possible will make sure your tracking cookies are deleted after the session. 
• Review app permissions, paying special attention to location, tracking, camera, microphone, and contact settings. 
• Lastly, when filling out online forms, using a fake name and email address can limit tracking and targeted ads. 

Are you concerned about your tech listening to you?

-Jamie Epstein