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 perm

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.