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Leak: Big Tech companies are listening to your convos
For years, tech companies have assured us no one’s listening through our smartphones to see what we’re interested in. It sure feels like it, though, when our ads seem so closely matched to our private chats with friends and family.
Well, the skeptics among us were right. At least one media group can (and does) gather info from conversations and use it for targeted ads. If this all sounds familiar, it’s not déjà vu. Last year, they were caught red-handed with a then-deleted blog post. Now it’s even worse.
Heard it through the grapevine
At the center of the drama is Cox Media Group. It’s not the Cox that provides internet service; this is a media company based in Atlanta.
They dropped the bombshell in their sales pitch deck (paywall link). Their Active Listening software can tap into private conversations through your smartphone’s microphone. It uses AI to capture and analyze data from a convo, which it then combines with behavioral data to create ultra-targeted ads.
Perhaps most shockingly of all, they list Facebook, Google and Amazon as partners. Now, they didn’t say for sure the Big Tech giants use Active Listening; it’s more implied — and now those companies are scrambling.
Meta and Amazon confirmed they work with CMG but say they don’t take part in the Active Listening program. Google removed CMG from their list of partners after the leak. I don’t know about you, but this smells a lot like damage control.
Who else is using this stuff?
CMG’s business includes 14 TV stations, 52 radio stations, a news bureau in Washington, D.C., and multiple streaming and digital platforms. Essentially, anyone who advertises on a CMG-owned network can access its Active Listening tech.
Bottom line: If CMG is listening in on your private conversations, others are, too. You’d better believe this kind of tech is standard at this point.
Tuning out
You can’t stop companies from being shady, but you can stop them from listening in. Here’s how to turn off microphone access for apps on your smartphone:
- On an iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security. Locate the menu labeled Microphone and tap it. Toggle the green switch to the off position for every app you don’t want listening.
- On an Android: Settings > Personal > Privacy and safety > App Permissions. Tap Microphone and locate the app for which you want to turn the mic off, then toggle it off.
🙄 The next time someone tells you you’re being paranoid about tech companies listening, send them my way. Even better, use one of the sharing buttons below to send this their way!
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Tags: Amazon, Android, Facebook, Google, internet, security
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