Your phone isn't secretly listening to you, but the truth is more disturbing

Summary

Perhaps one of the most pervasive longstanding technology conspiracy theories is that your smartphone is constantly listening in on your private conversations. Almost everyone at some point has felt the eerie synchronicity of seeing an ad served up on a social media platform that exactly corresponds to a recent conversation. It’s certainly unnerving, and the most simple explanation is one of direct surveillance. Of course Facebook, Google and Apple are all listening in on your private conversations with friends, catching key words, and then serving you tailored advertisements. And of course they would deny this is happening.The problem is, outside of anecdotal cases, no one has ever been able to find clear evidence that this is actually happening. Editor's note: Readers often ask us for follow-ups on memorable stories. What has happened to this story over the years? This article was originally published in 2019 but it has been re-edited and updated with new information current as of April 15, 2025. Enjoy!In 2024 a big news story emerged purporting to finally offer the smoking gun evidence proving once and for all that private conversations are tracked by smartphones to tailor ads to individual users. Investigative news site 404 Media revealed the massive media conglomerate Cox Media Group (CMG) had developed a system it called Active Listening. The system could apparently capture what it called "real-time intent data" using a smart device's microphone. This "voice data" could then be paired with AI processes and other "behavioral data" to serve up highly targeted advertisements.Exactly how this Active Listening system actually worked was unclear but almost immediately every major tech company distanced itself from CMG. Amazon claimed to have never worked with CMG as an ad partner, while Google and Meta swiftly severed any ties with the company. Even CMG went into damage control mode stating the Active Listening product had been "discontinued to avoid misperception."...