How much do the phones hear and monitor us? Or is that only a myth?

UrbanSnake · Sunday at 2:42 PM

Phones hearing our conversations is not a urban legend anymore, most people already firmly believe on that, treating it as a fact.

So, how much do the phones hear?
Are they 24/7 hearing what we say?
Can they listen the environment to identify whether we are on home or outside?
Are they only listening during specific times or during specific circumstances?

Are cameras still watching us or just hearing us?

What are your thoughts on this? If you know something based on your experience, knowledge and work about it, share it with us.

SettingSun77 · Sunday at 2:48 PM

Phones not hearing us and cameras not seeing us would make them both completely fucking useless, surely.

Dopious · Sunday at 2:50 PM

Yeah, I heard @Vynith `s phone started to send him hot profiles at dating sites in UK, hmm, maybe there is some truth in this.

Alexofm01 · Sunday at 2:50 PM

It's not a myth.

If you left your phone on the table or next to you and discussed about buying a new car, then you'd see car ads while you are browsing.

Additional ways they can use for ad targeting or sale of your data:

- Location + app data — if you and a friend are near each other with location on, ad networks can infer shared interests

- Search and browsing history — one partial search, a site visit, a tab left open

- Third-party data brokers — cross-referencing purchase history, app usage, contacts you both have

- Co-occurrence modeling — ad platforms predict what you’ll want to talk about because everyone’s talking about it (a new movie trailer drops, ads for it spike for everyone)

If you want to lock things down anyway, worth doing regardless:

- iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone — see which apps have access, revoke per-app

- Android: Settings → Privacy → Permission manager → Microphone — same idea

- Both: Settings → Privacy → Apple Ads / Google → turn off “Personalized Ads”

- Check Location permissions the same way — this affects targeting

- Buy a Nokia 3310

WQNetwork · Sunday at 2:50 PM

UrbanSnake said:
Phones hearing our conversations is not a urban legend anymore, most people already firmly believe on that, treating it as a fact.

So, how much do the phones hear?
Are they 24/7 hearing what we say?
Can they listen the environment to identify whether we are on home or outside?
Are they only listening during specific times or during specific circumstances?

Are cameras still watching us or just hearing us?

What are your thoughts on this? If you know something based on your experience, knowledge and work about it, share it with us.

there are many myths around this topic phones do collect data in different ways but it is worth understanding what permissions apps have instead of assuming they are always listening

Venusaur · Sunday at 3:14 PM

Alexofm01 said:
It's not a myth.

If you left your phone on the table or next to you and discussed about buying a new car, then you'd see car ads while you are browsing.

Additional ways they can use for ad targeting or sale of your data:

- Location + app data — if you and a friend are near each other with location on, ad networks can infer shared interests

- Search and browsing history — one partial search, a site visit, a tab left open

- Third-party data brokers — cross-referencing purchase history, app usage, contacts you both have

- Co-occurrence modeling — ad platforms predict what you’ll want to talk about because everyone’s talking about it (a new movie trailer drops, ads for it spike for everyone)

If you want to lock things down anyway, worth doing regardless:

- iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone — see which apps have access, revoke per-app

- Android: Settings → Privacy → Permission manager → Microphone — same idea

- Both: Settings → Privacy → Apple Ads / Google → turn off “Personalized Ads”

- Check Location permissions the same way — this affects targeting

- Buy a Nokia 3310

If they are illegally hearing our conversations and ignoring our privacy, why would they make it so easy to disable through general settings?

DigitalGarden · Sunday at 3:25 PM

Alexofm01 said:
If you left your phone on the table or next to you and discussed about buying a new car, then you'd see car ads while you are browsing.

yes that happen with me many times on facebook

bestseoinmyhouse · Sunday at 3:31 PM

It can hear you, it can see you, and if you spend enough time on the phone, it can predict your thoughts.

IronWill03 · Sunday at 3:34 PM

UrbanSnake said:
Phones hearing our conversations is not a urban legend anymore, most people already firmly believe on that, treating it as a fact.

So, how much do the phones hear?
Are they 24/7 hearing what we say?
Can they listen the environment to identify whether we are on home or outside?
Are they only listening during specific times or during specific circumstances?

Are cameras still watching us or just hearing us?

What are your thoughts on this? If you know something based on your experience, knowledge and work about it, share it with us.

phones do not continuously record audio or video 24/7 because that would drain battery and bandwidth instantly, instead tech giants rely on precise GPS data, browsing behavior, cross device tracking, and predictive AI models to deliver hyper targeted ads that only make it feel like you are being overheard

Vynith · Sunday at 3:40 PM

Dopious said:
Yeah, I heard @Vynith `s phone started to send him hot profiles at dating sites in UK, hmm, maybe there is some truth in this.

It's true.

I get one smoking hot baddie every hour in fact.

Genics Digital · Sunday at 3:40 PM

I don't think phones are literally listening to our conversations 24/7. If they were, it would be extremely difficult to hide because security researchers regularly analyze apps and network traffic. Most of the "it heard me" moments can be explained by the huge amount of data companies already collect—your searches, browsing history, location, app activity, contacts, and the behavior of people around you.

UrbanSnake · Sunday at 3:40 PM

IronWill03 said:
phones do not continuously record audio or video 24/7 because that would drain battery and bandwidth instantly, instead tech giants rely on precise GPS data, browsing behavior, cross device tracking, and predictive AI models to deliver hyper targeted ads that only make it feel like you are being overheard

It's not only about ads, it can be a national security matter, to identify potential threats or terrorists

What if phones are capable of having a battery lasting for 7 days without charging it, but due to those surveillance, it can only survive for 12-36h without charging it? it might be draining the battery and we treat it as normal

pervez512 · Sunday at 3:41 PM

phones collect a lot of data, but there's no strong evidence that they're constantly listening to your conversations to target ads. The reality is a mix of genuine privacy concerns and persistent myths.

sam.hunt0710 · Sunday at 3:44 PM

Sometime it feel likes my phone is sensing my thoughts too , how come it is showing reels according to my mood.

I am 100% sure that they are listening to us and seeing us .

But how come they are showing the reels over IG / FB according to my mood.

UrbanSnake · Sunday at 3:49 PM

sam.hunt0710 said:
Sometime it feel likes my phone is sensing my thoughts too , how come it is showing reels according to my mood.

I am 100% sure that they are listening to us and seeing us .

But how come they are showing the reels over IG / FB according to my mood.

Who are ''they" in your opinion?

UrbanSnake · Sunday at 3:56 PM

pervez512 said:
phones collect a lot of data, but there's no strong evidence that they're constantly listening to your conversations to target ads. The reality is a mix of genuine privacy concerns and persistent myths.

4n1834qrw said:
I think people often confuse targeted advertising with phones constantly listening most tracking comes from app permissions browsing behavior location data and online activity checking privacy settings is still a good habit

I think that you are both AIs posting general knowledge, but on Lounge your post inflation is not useful for your interests

sam.hunt0710 · Monday at 2:41 AM

UrbanSnake said:
Who are ''they" in your opinion?

IG , YT and FB

Ready--Steady-- · Monday at 4:09 AM

Vynith said:
It's true.

I get one smoking hot baddie every hour in fact.

We always appreciate everyone for using our services!

Ready--Steady-- · Monday at 4:12 AM

UrbanSnake said:
Phones hearing our conversations is not a urban legend anymore, most people already firmly believe on that, treating it as a fact.

So, how much do the phones hear?
Are they 24/7 hearing what we say?
Can they listen the environment to identify whether we are on home or outside?
Are they only listening during specific times or during specific circumstances?

Are cameras still watching us or just hearing us?

What are your thoughts on this? If you know something based on your experience, knowledge and work about it, share it with us.

Every phone got this feature, except iPhones!

GeeLark · Monday at 8:05 AM

Indeed! That's why I keep loudly telling my phone I want a brand new car for $1 lol

How much do the phones hear and monitor us? Or is that only a myth?

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