We often wondered how our phones manage to show suggestions for the issues that we never Googled for! Mostly this has been associated with coincidence, but according to some reports it’s not what it looks like. As reported by 404 Media, which is a marketing firm, smartphones are ‘secretly listening’ to you.
The report stated that smartphones use the ‘active listening’ technology for listening to our conversations.
Decoding ‘active listening’
According to 404 Media, your smartphones can listen to you using the ‘active listening’ software. But what is ‘active listening’ and how does it steal your thoughts! As explained by Cox Media Group, which is a major player in radio and television news, the technology uses AI to collect real-time information. Active listening uses AI to monitor and analyse your conversations, eventually using those to land you in relevant ads later. Moreover, this technology is kind of eavesdropping on your conversations.
The company also added that this technology helps advertisers to merge together the behavioral data and voice data. This method helps advertisers to target audiences based on their specific needs. For example, if you are discussing dresses, the technology will track that and save the data. This would be used by marketers or advertisers later on to show you relevant ads on your digital platforms.
Furthermore, the company explained that this technology also collects the data trail left by the users “on their conversations and online behaviour”. In addition to this the AI-powered software collects and then analyses the voice and behavioural data from about 470+ sources.
Your ‘secret listener’ is here
The revelation of this shady technology has raised questions on advertising companies’ denying the fact that it’s not secretly draining our data. However, this is not the first time that 404 Media have shed light on ‘active listening’ technology. Last year in December 404 Media had exposed how Cox Media Group used ‘Active Listening’, for monitoring and then exploiting users’ conversations for marketing data.
As the revelation created tension among all, big technology companies such as Amazon and Meta, among others, have decided to take some precautions. Meta plans to organize an analysis and review of the Cox Media Group’s terms of service. This is to make sure that the marketing agency has been using the collected data with user’s permission. Meta aims to ensure that the agency is not compromising user’s trust or violating your privacy. Furthermore, Amazon went a step ahead and decided not to work with the agency anymore. It has also mentioned that the company has nothing to do with Cox Media’s privacy matters.
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