Say the name of a product and see ads popping up about that product? Is your phone spying on you? We explain how to regain your privacy.
A friend comes to your house. You enjoy a coffee, you chat. You tell him that you are going to buy a new hair dryer because yours is starting to fail. Then you glance at your phone and lo and behold, hair dryer deals pop up out of nowhere. Does that speak to you? Is your phone listening to you?
Well, in a way, yes. That doesn’t mean there’s someone in an office in a huge office building with headphones on, writing down everything we say. The phone, thanks to algorithms, detects keywords when they are pronounced “in his presence”. Based on this, it performs an analysis and offers you offers from various stores or websites tailored to your needs. This is what gives the impression of being spied on.
Sometimes you’re not even aware you’ve said something out loud, and the ads swarm you from all over the place. In such situations, this kind of advertising is even more scary and causes a feeling of worry: my phone is spying on me!
It turns out that you can easily regain your sense of security. Just dive into your phone’s settings. This is because the system cannot collect data without your consent. And this consent is precisely in the settings.
If your phone is running Android, just go to settings and scroll down to the “Privacy Protection” option. There, look for Microphone access permission and uncheck any apps you want to remove access to. You should also take a look at apps that can use the microphone only when they are running. Some of them work in the background even when they are not supposed to be open. You can also set which programs can run in the background according to your preference.
If you are an iPhone user, in the settings you also look for the “Privacy and Security” tab. Here you find the microphone access options and you uncheck all apps that have access to it.
Now your phone will no longer collect data through the microphone. So you can discuss your shopping plans in peace, even with your phone nearby. However, it would be a good idea to look into all the other privacy settings as well, as the microphone is not the only means used to collect your data!
