The new theory that people have been talking about is that FaceBook is listening to you through your phone, so it can send you ads targeted specifically to you . Let’s say you start talking about a new jacket, all of a sudden your feed will be full of ads for jackets. It’s weird and a huge invasion of privacy, but FaceBook isn’t the only thing we have to worry about. There is a new report about other apps that listen in on you.
TV ad tracking with your phone Over 250 apps in the Google Play store were found to be running Alphonso software, some of which were also in iTunes. The software uses the microphone on your smartphone to listen for signals in TV ads and shows you are watching. This data is then used/sold for marketing and advertising purposes and in some cases can be used along with your location. This included games and even some children’s apps. The company justified it by saying they weren’t listening to your conversations, just the signal embedded into some ads- so they claim.
What you can do First, go into your app settings and make sure the microphone is only on for the apps that are absolutely necessary. When you install a new app, it should ask you if you want to allow access to the mic, camera, etc. The Federal Trade Commission has warned against software like this in the past and even fined one TV maker for doing something similar. If the makers dont inform you that they are recording, it could be breaking the law. The problem with this is that, it would be in the very fine print and so most are likely to miss it.
Kim Komando. Some Apps Do Listen Through Your Phone. January 4th, 2018. Rob Martin. Webstar Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. Someappsdolistenthroughyourphone
