It’s not that your iPhone listens in on conversations so it can sell you stuff. It’s much worse.
I asked her yesterday what she wanted to celebrate her birthday. She said she wanted a cordless Dremel. Then, I received an advertisement for a cordless Dremel.
It’s possible that the phone was listening to our conversation. We’d never discussed hand drills, and I had never looked up power tools on Amazon or searched for them. Why wouldn’t the phone send our voices to Google headquarters, or wherever they are located so that I can receive an advertisement? It has a mic right here. What is the other possible explanation? There is another explanation. It’s more sinister and stranger than high-tech listening.
You’re not being listened to by your phone (at least, not in the way you thought)
You can say that your phone listens to you all the time, but only in a certain way. It’s not the same as listening to you. Personal assistant apps would be unable to respond when you say, “Alexa” or “Siri.” The device only listens for one word. The smarter parts in its digital brain only light up after hearing that word.
Your conversations aren’t routinely sent to distant advertising firms so that they can use random words and send you ads. It would be a waste of time and resources and likely violate privacy laws and wiretap laws. This is also not a good idea: It would create too much noise to listen to everyone’s conversations, and there wouldn’t be enough information to warrant the effort. Especially since advertisers already have all relevant information about you.
What information is collected by your mobile phone
Your apps, watch, computer, game system, phone and possibly your oven, are collecting as much data as they can. This includes but is not limited to:
- Location data (both via your device’s settings and IP address).
- Search History
- Browse history
- Purchase History
- Physical interaction (physical use of your device)
The information is more valuable than anything you say, and anyone can purchase it. Advertising companies, in general, do not connect these data with anything that could identify you specifically (like your address and name). It wouldn’t take long, but advertisers would not benefit much from it. What difference does it make if they know what you’re doing 24 hours a week? This process is known as fingerprinting and allows advertisers to track your activities across websites and apps.
The frightening world of online behavioral advertisement
Anyone could get an idea about how you would like to be advertised to by a few simple data points. If you live in “Beverly Hills”, and spent an hour on the Lexus site, then you are probably a wealthy man looking to buy a new vehicle. In the olden days, they would only need that information to target you. Maybe with a sign in your neighborhood. Online behavioral advertising gathers so many other details–you watched Star Trekon a Sunday night, or you bought a tent in the last month–that it becomes almost supernaturally precise.
One way to beat tracking is by using a VPN while you browse the internet on your smartphone. A VPN will encrypt your traffic and route it through a remote server, making it difficult for trackers to identify you or your location. PCMag reviewed the top VPNs available on iPhone and Android , ranking the following among the best options:
- Proton VPN
- NordVPN
- Surfshark VPN
- TunnelBear VPN
- CyberGhost VPN
The hidden connections that bind us together
This explains why ads are so specific to and your interest, but it doesn’t explain why you would get ads following a conversation. Then, things get even creepier. Advertisers will compare your “anonymous identity” with other identities (like those of your spouse or friends) to determine your purchasing interests. They know that you spend a lot time at the squash court with Gary, even though they don’t have his name. And they also know that Gary is a big Audi fan. They also know what rich car-loving guys like you and Gary are thinking, buying, and feeling. If you see an advertisement for an Audi, it is not because Gary talked to you about his vehicle. You hang out with Gary, who is into Audi.
Advertisers know that my wife’s profile is often found in the same place as mine. She’s searched for cordless drills on the internet and her birthday is just a month away. It makes sense to send me an advertisement for a cordless drill, even though it may feel like an invasion.
You are depressingly predictable
Targeted advertising can appear eerily accurate, even when you know how it works. You may be served ads about things that you are just considering, and they have nothing to do with your search history, location or who you hang out with. This can also be explained.
Humans make associations based on their past experiences, personal bias, and expectations. Computers don’t make assumptions or have the same limitations as we do. I believe they make connections that cannot be explained and are not obvious. They compare huge datasets with a dispassionate approach. Perhaps people like you are interested in learning how to play the banjo around 35 years old, which is why this ad appeared on your birthday.
Man-made coincidences and pattern recognition
Even coincidence plays a role. Even if ads online were random, some people still wonder if they are being watched by their phone. Human nature is to notice unusual events (like an advertisement for a candy appearing just when you were thinking about eating a snack), while ignoring the mundane (the ad that preceded this ad was for a movie that you didn’t like). It’s not surprising that some targeted ads seem to hit impossible shots, given that they are trying to create meaningful “coincidences”.
Don’t worry about it, things will get worse
Generative AI will probably be the next step in targeting advertising. Advertising companies have already begun experimenting with AI to produce more effective copy and visuals. In this CNBC article, is described as “Facebook users from Utah could see AI-generated graphics showing people cycling through desert canyons while San Francisco users might see cyclists cruising across the Golden Gate Bridge.” But that sounds crude and it’s only a matter of months away. The world will become exponentially depressing when AI becomes really good.
Advertisers know almost all about you. Imagine a computer capable of creating instant advertising that is targeted at you and only you. Not a guess based upon people similar to you, but your individuality. Imagine ads that are based on your insecurities or secret desires. Advertising is already intrusive. Imagine a Dremel commercial featuring your dead mother, or your childhood crush. I’m sure we will wishour phone literally spied on us.
Things are (a little) getting better
There’s still some good news in the privacy department: Tech companies are adding tools that help users protect their data from online trackers. Apple’s App Transparency feature is still in use. It was released by Apple two years ago, to make apps ask for permission to track users across websites and apps. The answer should, of course be “Hell No!”
The wide spread adoption of the tracking system irritated companies such as Facebook, whose business models depended on selling data from it. Since then, the data you provide to Apple has become less visible to advertisers. DuckDuckGo, which is available on Android, has a feature similar to this that will keep your apps more secure.
All operating systems and web browsers now offer more robust privacy controls. Windows, macOS and iOS offer greater controls to see which apps are requesting which data points and block them from accessing it. Safari, Edge and Firefox are among the browsers that constantly add new features to help hide your data. This is true even if your default settings have not been changed. Many sites and apps now allow you to turn off targeted ads. You may still see the same amount of ads but they will not be based on identifiers. No Dremel.
It’s true that using a smartphone will never be truly “private,” but there are now more tools available than ever before to make it as private as possible. They will be safe until the AI gets too smart for them.
