5 ms·

I’ve always found it interesting people put tape over their camera but leave the microphone untouched. If I’m concerned about privacy my words carry a lot more

I’ve always found it interesting people put tape over their camera but leave the microphone untouched. If I’m concerned about privacy my words carry a lot more personal information than pictures of me picking my nose while programming.

guerrilla 3y ago
Yeah I don't get why everyone didn't foresee this as obvious. If you're talking about something that even has a remote chance of being used against you, you put your damned phones in another room.
autoexec 3y ago
Putting tape over the mic wouldn't stop it from hearing you. People leave their mics untouched because no amount of touching will solve the problem without permanently damaging your device or making it useless. Some devices will disable the internal microphone if it detects an external mic has been inserted and there are people who do things like take a microphone or a cheap pair of earbuds+mic and cut the cord off just past the jack so that they can leave it inserted without worry that it will collect anything. I've heard that some devices were updated to stop disabling the internal mic after an external one was inserted in response to this tactic, but haven't verified that myself. Either way, that's something that can sometimes be done or undone in software, so I wouldn't count on it. I do try to avoid bugging my own house as best I can. I opened up my PS5 controller to rip out the two internal microphones for example, but there's nothing I can do to my cell phone's mic to keep it from listening while the phone is being used/useful. Removing the battery or burying the phone 10 feet below the surface of the earth or keeping it in a lead lined box makes the phone about as useful as not having one.
cassepipe 3y ago
Tells a lot about our visual bias as human beings. Most people are able to see and identify the camera but nobody really sees the tiny hole for the microphone. Only people who know it's there think about it. It's also funny because it's about control. Most people are exposing (probably too much of) their lives voluntarily but don't want to be exposed picking their noses. We are only trying to be rational beings when something important depends on it or because in certain domains we've been trained to
astrange 3y ago
Some laptops have physical switches for that, but phones are just kind of small and there's nowhere to put them. Of course, if someone really cares they can put custom hardware in your phone (or anything else you carry on you.) It's all about your threat model.
boredumb 3y ago
I have a feeling it isn't them playing with their noses they're worried about.

guerrilla 3y ago

Yeah I don't get why everyone didn't foresee this as obvious. If you're talking about something that even has a remote chance of being used against you, you put your damned phones in another room.

autoexec 3y ago

Putting tape over the mic wouldn't stop it from hearing you. People leave their mics untouched because no amount of touching will solve the problem without permanently damaging your device or making it useless. Some devices will disable the internal microphone if it detects an external mic has been inserted and there are people who do things like take a microphone or a cheap pair of earbuds+mic and cut the cord off just past the jack so that they can leave it inserted without worry that it will collect anything. I've heard that some devices were updated to stop disabling the internal mic after an external one was inserted in response to this tactic, but haven't verified that myself. Either way, that's something that can sometimes be done or undone in software, so I wouldn't count on it. I do try to avoid bugging my own house as best I can. I opened up my PS5 controller to rip out the two internal microphones for example, but there's nothing I can do to my cell phone's mic to keep it from listening while the phone is being used/useful. Removing the battery or burying the phone 10 feet below the surface of the earth or keeping it in a lead lined box makes the phone about as useful as not having one.

cassepipe 3y ago

Tells a lot about our visual bias as human beings. Most people are able to see and identify the camera but nobody really sees the tiny hole for the microphone. Only people who know it's there think about it. It's also funny because it's about control. Most people are exposing (probably too much of) their lives voluntarily but don't want to be exposed picking their noses. We are only trying to be rational beings when something important depends on it or because in certain domains we've been trained to

astrange 3y ago

Some laptops have physical switches for that, but phones are just kind of small and there's nowhere to put them. Of course, if someone really cares they can put custom hardware in your phone (or anything else you carry on you.) It's all about your threat model.

boredumb 3y ago

I have a feeling it isn't them playing with their noses they're worried about.