Marketing firm finally admits that smartphones overhear your conversations
This revelation is groundbreaking as the firm is linked with companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and many other big names.
Have you ever felt like your smartphone was listening to your conversations? Doesn’t it feel like they show us the same product we talked about buying? Well, now this speculation is no more a doubt, as a marketing firm has recently confirmed that smartphones use active listening software that hears your phonic conversations. This revelation is groundbreaking as the firm is linked with companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and many other big names.
According to the report from 404 Media, it’s not just your search pattern that gets you the ads; whatever you say near the phone is also responsible for the ads. You must have felt sometimes that you were being shown the exact same product you talked about. Suppose you are talking to a friend about buying a pair of sneakers, and soon your ad list is bagged with sneaker suggestions. This is not a coincidence, as your phone listened to your conversation through the active listening software, figured out you needed a sneaker, and gave the data to the advertising company.
What is Active Listening Software?
According to 404 media’s report, Cox Media Group revealed during a presentation that the Active Listening technology uses AI to gather real-time data analysing the phonic conversation of an individual. The firm asserted that the software overhears the conversation to get the details of the buying behaviour. Additionally, they asserted that it allows the advertisers to gather the behavioural and voice data to target the consumers who are willing to buy a product. This helps them in effectively advertising the product.
The company further asserted that this helps in gathering the data presented by the consumers “on their conversations and online behaviour.” Reportedly they highlighted that the AI-powered software collects and analyses “behavioural and voice data from 470+ sources.”
Affect on companies like Meta and Amazon
Certainly, this revelation has resulted in escalating tensions for big names like Meta and Amazon, as the two companies are closely connected with the firm. Reportedly, Meta is planning to conduct a comprehensive review regarding the agency’s terms of service. Meta will check whether they are collecting certain explicit data without the user’s consent.
Meanwhile, Amazon has cleared its stance by denying involvement with the firm and its data privacy scandal. Amazon has further dismissed all future involvement with the marketing agency. The e-commerce giant has warned all of its partners for legal action if they breach the terms of service. Amazon assured that the user data is safe and they will further protect it.
Cox Media Group once claimed in a post that users are asked for permission every time they install a new app. The now-deleted post read, “We know what you’re thinking. Is this even legal? It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.”
This permission saga raises concerns as these kinds of consent are generally camouflaged in a dense forest of user agreements, which are usually ignored by individuals while signing in to an app. This clever trick gives them the required permissions.
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