Is this even legal?" A leaked pitch reveals marketing agency uses 'Active Listening' software to eavesdrop on calls and push curated Facebook and...

[Windows Central]

A marketing agency admitted it listens to user voice data using its “Active Listening” software via smartphone microphones and uses the data to channel the "right" Facebook and Google ads to target customers.

Is this even legal?" A leaked pitch reveals marketing agency uses 'Active Listening' software to eavesdrop on calls and push curated Facebook and... : Read more

 

[GraniteStateColin]

Well that's creepy. I hope I have not granted this permission to any apps, but as Kevin's article points out, many apps require mic access for core functions, making it tougher to rule out their having been given too much access.

If not already included (this may already be the standard, I'm just not sure), I'd like to see Google and Apple add some granularity to the mic and camera permissions so that there is a separate permission to limit access to only when the app is actively being used in the foreground when the screen is on. This way, only the handful of very specific voice control apps, like assistants, would actually ever be granted mic access at other times. Then, in the app description, highlight apps that will request the more advanced permissions. That would serve as a disincentive for developers to ask users to agree to additional permissions.

I'd go a step further on what I'd personally like: an option in Google Play to filter out even showing me any apps that ask for that permission.

 

[DannyDOn]

It's scary, so when we're talking or doing something secretive, we must keep our smart devices away from us. Because it is likely monitoring the surrounding sound and then transmitting it back for analysis.

 

[Cosmocronos]

It's scary, so when we're talking or doing something secretive, we must keep our smart devices away from us. Because it is likely monitoring the surrounding sound and then transmitting it back for analysis.

Well, I remember that after the introduction of the GSM devices people started to remove batteries when attending meetings; when, quite conveniently indeed, non removable batteries became the standard phones were routinely left outside the room. Granted, at the time the concern was about industrial espionage not advertising but, not surprisingly, the technology trickled down.