Bugatti

I went to the local car Dealer on Saturday to sign the paperwork for my new car, anyway he tried to sell me Gap Insurance etc as usual.

Later on when I was surfing the net on my mobile phone and I started seeing banner adverts for Gap insurance. I just put it down to being a coincidence.

Then earlier today my 4 year old nephew was jumping around and we called him Monkey a few times, low and behold a few mins later I get a notification pop up from Twitter on my mobile with "tweets you might be interested in" with the word monkey in it.

I normally always refuse the phone/apps permission whenever I install something and it asks whether to allow it access to all sorts of data.

Anyway, are our phones actually listening to our conversations at all times even when they're on standby? I neither searched for Gap Insurance nor monkeys on any of my devices so there is no other way the phone/google/twitter could've got those subjects from.

Its a HTC M7 on Android by the way. Creepy.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

Do a little test, pick an unusual subject, put finger over microphone hole. Say it out loud. Repeat with another odd subject with mic exposed. See if puts adverts up on your browser.

If it proves that you're being listened to contact 'snowden' and the guardian. Or you could install a decent add blocker.

Also gap insurance is much cheaper online, and can be bought for 2-5 years even older cars

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Wasn't there something in the news recently about this very thing?

JackClark

Android is free, if you're not paying for the product you are the product. Now, I think you're being paranoid regarding the radio but anything you do on your mobile Google will sell.

johned

BIG BROTHER.

BlkKnight

With the release of marshmallow you can granularly restrict which app has access to what phone feature.

ossett2k2

iTrader: (9)

Tv's use this technology to listen in,they will be using targeted ads in the future,there's no reason why they wouldn't use the same technology in phones too! If you Hang some empty bean cans on coat hangers from your celling and wear a mixing bowl on your head,wrap some foil around your ball sack you should be safe.,, failing that just buy an apple

wrx300scooby

this made me laugh!!!!

JackClark

And Google will sell that information to anyone who pays. Wake up Sheeple.

Bugatti

Do the bean cans have to be of a certain brand or will Lidl's cheapo ones do the job?

jonc

Just as you can with Apple devices and turn off iAds you can do the same in Android by opting out and resetting the ad ID.

But at the end of the day there is no getting away from monetising your information whatever device you use, be it iPhones, Android, Windows, OSX. etc, they still mine your data both directly and indirectly, it is how these companies are able to deliver you a "personalised" service. Mobile and land line operators, social media sites, insurance, banking, shopping, TV services, mobile app providers, internet services, DVLA, etc, etc, etc. No matter what you do your personal information is all out there. You are still the "product" regardless of whether you pay for something or get it free. If Google monetises your information to provide you great services for free, is that not a worthwhile trade off?

Is it an issue of privacy, whether your personal information is out there or the fact it is monetised? Either way it makes no difference to you personally whether you use an Apple product or not, you use Facebook on your Apple device!!

JackClark

I know what you're saying Jon but in terms of Privacy you're comparing Apples with Lemons. The latest Android is better but not as much as a lot of people hoped, plus adoption is stupidly slow.

It's very hard to find the balance between privacy and convenience and for a long time we've leaned towards convenience, times are changing and the job of the marketeer is getting harder.

PaulC72

Apple uses don't need to give Apple extra revenue via ads do they, as they have to spend enough on firstly buying the phone, then all the new bit they need as the old model has a different fitting, or fills the space up quickly so they need to buy icloud space.

Talk about isheep the new you will do what we say product. ;-)

JackClark

Apple do make money from ads, iAds, they don't sell your information.

Turbohot

I think these gadgets can ever mind read. Often I've thought of something e.g. potatoes or tomatoes, and someone here has posted a thread on the same thought in next two days. I reckon we're living in the times of no privacy. Not even of a thought. Challenging times.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Yep - this has been happening for some years, what is suggested is correct, features on your phone are activated at intervals outside your control to gather all sorts of data. Ever wonder why when you are downloading a piece of software which has no relation to your contacts, microphone, camera etc asks for permission to access these?


I can recall one app from a while ago which would defer setting off your alarm on your phone, until the mic detected that you were beginning to wake - think it was called wake happy or something like that.


I recall another app which would pick up audio from your television, to target advertising on your ipad, tablet, phone. There are other applications which will use sound and light patterns to determine where people are together. What is collected isn't actually pictures and voices, but sound patterns and light patterns. Its how shazam and Soundhound and similar apps can name that tune.


I can guarantee that anyone who owns a current generation smart phone will have already surreptitiously provided details about


Your gender
The gender of those you speak with on your mobile or who live with you
Age profile for yourself
Age profile of those you speak with on your mobile or who live with you
Location of your home
The music you listen to
The time you wake up
The time you go to bed
What you view on TV and listen to on radio
How much time you spend in social settings
The forms of transportation you use and when you use them
and more all gathered from the mic and camera on your mobile


This is without getting into what the security agencies can currently do with your telephone and other devices.

I am working on a project at the moment which will leverage some of this capability for targeted advertising and marketing particularly within large retail environments.


What would George Orwell make of all this!!!!

legb4rsk

He would wonder what the hell all this marketing speak is all about!!!