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I remain convinced that something on my phone listens to incidental conversations. Yesterday my wife was asking about the difference between our (past) Plymouth

I remain convinced that something on my phone listens to incidental conversations. Yesterday my wife was asking about the difference between our (past) Plymouth Voyager and the current Chrysler Pacifica. Today I get an ad in my Google (Android) feed for the Pacifica. I haven't looked at mini-vans in decades and neither of us searched for anything related. We had just visited the Sloan museum in Flint, MI which has an extensive Buick display so an ad for a Buick would not have been unexpected. Coincidences like this have happened too many times to be coincidental.

dangus 3y ago
I think these conspiracy theories happen because people don’t understand how easy it is to leak data and how easy it is for data collectors to gather metadata and make a conclusion. Metadata is incredibly powerful and a lot of non-data scientists don’t realize the level of sophistication that companies have in their possession. The classic example is Target predicting your pregnancy based on specific purchase behaviors. All they have to know is a consistent identifier and your purchase history and they can predict whether you’re pregnant. There’s no need to listen in on conversations or obtain other more detailed user data. Also, a lot of “private” services and apps really don’t promise jack shit in their privacy policy. They are probably all gathering and selling the data nearly in real time. Their privacy policies are often far more broad, vague, and permissive than their PR will tell you. You’re with your wife, your devices are often on the same networks, so it’s likely that advertisers know you know each other when you browse. Despite what your wife says, you really don’t know if she interacted with a Pacifica ad or piece of sponsored content. Even if she didn’t search for a Pacifica, it doesn’t have to be specifically something related to minivans, because that information that you are potentially more interested in minivans can come from other metadata. TikTok manages to figure out your perception of a particular video based on how your fingers are moving on the screen, how long you’re spending on a video, what’s happening when you’re lingering or swiping, etc. You never really have to tell TikTok directly what things you like. The game of 20 questions works from a similar concept. You can start knowing absolutely zero and ask a very small amount of binary questions to find the specific item the person has on their mind, only metadata.
- jamesdwilson 3y ago
  > Cox Media Group recently gave advertisers an overview of a new technology it calls Active Listening. CMG claimed that its technology can use microphone data from devices like smartphones and tablets, specifically analyzing "pre-purchase conversations." The since-deleted blog post also mentions using AI to determine when the phrases heard from smart devices could be "relevant" to advertisers. https://www.businessinsider.com/cox-active-listening-claims-conversations-phones-target-ads-12-2023 https://www.businessinsider.com/cox-active-listening-claims-...
  - dangus 3y ago
    From the archived page: > 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. This means you have to give permissions and ignore the orange dot on your screen for this technology to work.
    - jamesdwilson 3y ago
      Don't most people just hit Accept blindly?
      - dangus 3y ago
        Probably, but that’s why new versions of iOS have a recording indicator anytime the microphone or camera is active. And, you know, at some point consent is consent. It’s a giant dialog box that explains everything. Some people might even want an app that records their activity and gives them compensation for doing so (e.g., Microsoft/Bing Rewards). Who am I to tell that person they don’t want that?
- HankB99 3y ago
  > You’re with your wife, your devices are often on the same networks, I'm on Fi, she's on Verizon. But I don't doubt that data miners know we're together due to consistent proximity. Neither she nor I did any Pacifica related searches.

dangus 3y ago

I think these conspiracy theories happen because people don’t understand how easy it is to leak data and how easy it is for data collectors to gather metadata and make a conclusion. Metadata is incredibly powerful and a lot of non-data scientists don’t realize the level of sophistication that companies have in their possession. The classic example is Target predicting your pregnancy based on specific purchase behaviors. All they have to know is a consistent identifier and your purchase history and they can predict whether you’re pregnant. There’s no need to listen in on conversations or obtain other more detailed user data. Also, a lot of “private” services and apps really don’t promise jack shit in their privacy policy. They are probably all gathering and selling the data nearly in real time. Their privacy policies are often far more broad, vague, and permissive than their PR will tell you. You’re with your wife, your devices are often on the same networks, so it’s likely that advertisers know you know each other when you browse. Despite what your wife says, you really don’t know if she interacted with a Pacifica ad or piece of sponsored content. Even if she didn’t search for a Pacifica, it doesn’t have to be specifically something related to minivans, because that information that you are potentially more interested in minivans can come from other metadata. TikTok manages to figure out your perception of a particular video based on how your fingers are moving on the screen, how long you’re spending on a video, what’s happening when you’re lingering or swiping, etc. You never really have to tell TikTok directly what things you like. The game of 20 questions works from a similar concept. You can start knowing absolutely zero and ask a very small amount of binary questions to find the specific item the person has on their mind, only metadata.

jamesdwilson 3y ago
> Cox Media Group recently gave advertisers an overview of a new technology it calls Active Listening. CMG claimed that its technology can use microphone data from devices like smartphones and tablets, specifically analyzing "pre-purchase conversations." The since-deleted blog post also mentions using AI to determine when the phrases heard from smart devices could be "relevant" to advertisers. https://www.businessinsider.com/cox-active-listening-claims-conversations-phones-target-ads-12-2023 https://www.businessinsider.com/cox-active-listening-claims-...
- dangus 3y ago
  From the archived page: > 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. This means you have to give permissions and ignore the orange dot on your screen for this technology to work.
  - jamesdwilson 3y ago
    Don't most people just hit Accept blindly?
    - dangus 3y ago
      Probably, but that’s why new versions of iOS have a recording indicator anytime the microphone or camera is active. And, you know, at some point consent is consent. It’s a giant dialog box that explains everything. Some people might even want an app that records their activity and gives them compensation for doing so (e.g., Microsoft/Bing Rewards). Who am I to tell that person they don’t want that?
HankB99 3y ago
> You’re with your wife, your devices are often on the same networks, I'm on Fi, she's on Verizon. But I don't doubt that data miners know we're together due to consistent proximity. Neither she nor I did any Pacifica related searches.