I bet we all have experienced situations where we mentioned a brand or product, and then a few moments later there is an online advertisement showing the thing that was mentioned earlier, even though we hadn’t googled or searched for it. It raises the question as to whether our smartphone or app in our smartphone is capable of hearing our private conversations. In fact, many companies are now implementing data monetization, however, if they do so by listening to our daily conversations and using the data for commercial purposes, it makes many users uncomfortable. So, are they really hearing us?
According to Kröger and Raschke (2019), eavesdropping operations could be performed through two channels: microphones and motion sensors on smartphone. Apps are able to access the microphone if permission has been granted. The problem is, people accept permission requests without considering the consequences, when they really need the app. When a permission is granted, it is usually not transparent how, why, and to what extent data will be collected. Motion sensors, the second channel, can be sensitive enough to detect sound vibrations and potentially reconstruct speech. The access to motion sensors can be directly performed by third-party apps on iOS and Android without the user being notified (Kröger and Raschke, 2019).
It’s rare to find journals and articles discussing this issue. Nevertheless, Maheswari (2017) found that a start-up company named Alphonso collects customer data using smartphone microphones. Your phone is accessed by the company by integrating its software into games you download. Your phone is all ears if you download one of these games and click “accept” when prompted for access to your microphone (Aonso, 2018).
Despite the fact that there are not many studies on the possibility that your smartphone or application is listening to your private conversations, the Alphonso case should be a wake-up call for us to be more cautious. We need to be more aware of what permissions apps ask for and be mindful of what they request in order to avoid future harm (Curran, 2018).
References:
Aonso, C. (2018). Why You Keep Getting Ads For Things You’ve Talked About But Haven’t Searched Up Online. [online] Narcity. Available at: https://www.narcity.com/why-you-keep-getting-ads-for-things-youve-talked-about-but-havent-searched-up-online.
Curran, D. (2018). Are your phone camera and microphone spying on you? | Dylan Curran. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/06/phone-camera-microphone-spying.
Komando, K. (2019). You’re not paranoid. Your phone really is listening in. [online] Fox News. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/tech/youre-not-paranoid-your-phone-really-is-listening-in.
Kröger, J.L. and Raschke, P. (2019). Is My Phone Listening in? On the Feasibility and Detectability of Mobile Eavesdropping. Data and Applications Security and Privacy XXXIII, pp.102–120.
Labi, S. (2021). Is your smartphone listening to your conversations? [online] www.9news.com.au. Available at: https://www.9news.com.au/national/is-my-phone-listening-to-me-how-to-tell-what-to-do/09393aa0-77fe-4de5-b719-fef58c79529c.
Maheshwari, S. (2017). That Game on Your Phone May Be Tracking What You’re Watching on TV (Published 2017). The New York Times. [online] 28 Dec. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/business/media/alphonso-app-tracking.html.
Insightful post Alvieda! I also always wonder how phones are able to provide us with the relevant advertisements just before talking about a certain subject. It certainly very scary and surreal to expierence. So they question is indeed, do smartphone really hear us?
It is a problem of how data is collected, and how the transparency of data collection is either flawed or not incorporated as you mentioned. The supporting algorithms are able to translate our words into advertisements is an accomplishment, yet it does invade our privacy and sense of security, you are never alone in that case. Whether the GDPR is on the lookout for these invasions in privacy and data security is a question in itself.
As you mentioned as well, there are not a lot of articles or journals discussing the problem. Can it be coincedence? or are apps which allow to use your microphone eavesdropping, and selling the “data” to information brokers? According to this article, some apps have sneaky “trigger words” that prompt the mic to open, just like when you say “hey google”. https://rewire.ie.edu/phone-listening-data-handling/
At this stage, we cannot really tell, there is need of more tangible evidence and the need of understanding our data privacy better. However, the first barrier to data security is ourselves, and we should be wary of what we “allow” apps and platforms to do. But in all in all, we cannot deny that it is convenient to get an ad of what we exactly want, but who I am to judge 😉
I really enjoyed your read!