A few years ago, a person shared an information that surprised him like this: He talked for a long time with his relatives who came home about the illness of a person at home. (Not on the phone.) After a while, he started browsing the Internet and the funny thing was – the browser was flooded with advertisements about drugs and treatments for the disease in question. He swears he hasn’t even done an internet search on the disease. What he said at the time didn’t seem very credible, but a recent study conducted by researchers at the popular app company NordVPN clarifies this. Yes, researchers have come to the conclusion that the smartphone may be constantly waiting for what you say.
∙ Sonic Snooping
There are allegations that security cameras etc. are secretly monitoring one’s movements. Apart from this, it is concluded that what is being said is being heard using the microphone. This is called sonic snooping. The Daily Mail reports that nearly half of Britons believe they have been victims of sonic snooping. Researchers at NordVPN say that smartphones’ microphones have the ability to eavesdrop even on private conversations.
∙ This is a frightening revelation; But why do it?
The researchers say apps on your phone try to show you ads about things you apparently want. Whether there are ulterior motives is unclear. According to research by NordVPN, almost half of Britons share the experience of products appearing as pop-up ads on their phones during conversations at home. Villains are apps capable of listening to background noises. Apart from the conversation, the companies behind the apps can also understand where a person is, what they are doing and what their interests are from the background noise they collect.
∙ Ultrasonic cross-device tracking
In a survey conducted in Britain, 45 percent of respondents said they feel like someone is following them all the time. One in eight said it scared them. However, two thirds said that they do not know how to stop this. More personal data is also collected using a controversial method called ultrasonic cross-device tracking.
Smart devices secretly communicate without people knowing
According to the Daily Mail’s report, smart devices including TVs, laptops and smart phones in homes and offices are communicating with each other without the user knowing. They communicate through ultrasonic waves. It is much louder than human hearing. It claims to know the location of users and what they are doing. Our smartphones, laptops and tablets pick up these sounds through their microphones. Analyzes the received data and shows appropriate advertisement.
∙ Don’t give access to the microphone
It is common for many apps to ask for microphone access even if it is not required. Some apps don’t need a microphone to work, but that’s why they ask for access. Security consultant Adrianus Warmenhoven says this type of cross-tracking is a gold mine for advertisers. This is how apps collect a lot of information about you without your knowledge. He says there is no way to stop smart devices from emitting ultrasonic waves. The only preventative measure that can be taken is to prevent unwanted apps from accessing the microphone.
∙ Expert that such tracking is possible
However, it is also said that no action can be taken because it has not been technically proven that such data collection has been done. Meanwhile, an experiment conducted by a company on this has been successful. They talked to each other for the test on topics that none of the workers had any interest in. Take for example the case of Jason who participated in this. He talked about buying a new Volvo car as part of the experiment. He never owns any car. Never tried to buy a car. No car brand has been searched on the internet. Yet after his pep talk, there was a flood of Volvo car ads for his smart devices. Adrainus says the technology is available to do this. But he said that it is not possible to say how widespread such tracking is through smart phones.