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The listening part is what is really the most mind-blowing. I routinely get mobile ads about things I only talked about with others and never typed anywhere. Go
by s9w 7y ago
The listening part is what is really the most mind-blowing. I routinely get mobile ads about things I only talked about with others and never typed anywhere. Google can deny as much as they want: They listen to every single word
- nineteen999 7y agoI run a microphone blocker on my phone for these purposes. Before that I used to wonder whether they were listening in; or it were merely coincidence and our brain just connects the dots where it shouldn't.
- toper-centage 7y agoIs your blocker an app? Is it possible that the OS can override hardware access reserved by apps?
- nineteen999 7y agoIt is an app, and it does work to some degree (eg. Shazam doesn't work with it activated). I don't see why the OS couldn't override it. I'm under no illusions that it couldn't be done.
- stallmanite 7y agoSo did you notice an effect after blocking the microphone? Did the ads seeved to you change as a result?
- nineteen999 7y agoNot really. And I can't say that I have formed an opinion either way yet. It's more of an experiment than anything else. I tend to not really browse much on my mobile anyway.
- gambiting 7y agoI still don't believe that. Not even a little bit. It's just that advertisers are absolutely fantastic at guessing what you might want, even if you have never ever actually looked at a product yourself. Maybe you were talking to your friends about something, and sure, you never searched for it, but your friend did while connected to your wifi - now your ip address is forever associated with that search, even if you yourself have never searched for it. Then when you suddenly get an ad for this product it feels like google must be listening to you. I had this conversation with my mum few weeks ago - she was absolutely adamant that Google must be spying on her, because she spoke to me about getting a roomba on the phone, she has never searched for it, and yet she's getting ads for a roomba everywhere. They MUST be listening to her. Except that I reminded her that a week earlier I sent her an amazon link to a roomba, which she clicked and therefore is forever branded as someone who is looking for roombas. No conspiracy required, she simply forgot she has actually looked at a roomba-related website. It's just...if they were really listening, it would have implications in both power and data usage, there would be a smoking gun somewhere - and there just isn't. Advertisers can figure out what you want even without listening to what you say.
- s9w 7y agoI know the usual reasoning. It's often very specific topics like a certain kitchen item or even joke discussions about cars. These things pop up with 100% accuracy and with mentioning them in a single discussion. it happens so often that it's become an inside joke. They are listening, all the time.
- nkrisc 7y agoThey probably showed the same ad to thousands of other people who didn't talk about it privately, and thus never noticed any connection. Coincidence. No, I don't trust Google either, but it's probably just chance. If I called a million people and said, "you should take that trip to Estonia, can I help you book a flight?" most people would just hang up on me but one person would think I read their mind from across the country.