Is My Phone Listening to Me

Can phones listen to us

The short answer is yes—your phone can listen to you. Modern smartphones and devices equipped with voice assistants, like Alexa or Google Assistant, are designed to react to wake words. Phrases like “Hey Siri” or “OK Google” activate these assistants, allowing them to respond to commands.

Modern devices only hear you until you say a wake command. After they hear this, they start listening, and your data can be collected to improve the services or tailor ads to you.

Both Google and Amazon have publicly stated that their smart devices only listen for preprogrammed commands and do not engage in continuous monitoring beyond these wake terms. Similarly, Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, during an April 2018 testimony before the U.S. Congress, dismissed the notion that the company listens to user conversations for targeted advertising.

As of today, there is no evidence suggesting that major software creators are violating their privacy policies regarding microphone usage. Much like anybody else’s online privacy, yours largely depends on how trustworthy these platforms prove to be.

Why is your phone listening to you

Your phone listens to you primarily to process and respond to your voice commands. When you make a request or ask a question, your device searches for the best answer or completes the task on your behalf. However, companies often collect data from these interactions for targeted ads, tracking online behavior, and more.

Here’s a list of reasons why your phone is listening to you:

1. To deliver targeted ads

Have you ever talked about a product with a friend, only to see an ad for that item pop up on your phone moments later? This is what targeted advertising is and your audio data is yet another source fueling it. Your online behavior (including voice commands) helps marketers craft personalized ads based on your preferences and behavior.

An increase in spammy ads, especially when you're not even browsing online, could indicate that your phone is compromised. So, if you’re wondering, ‘Is your phone tapped?’ an increase in random pop-ups can be your first warning sign.

2. To track your online activity

Even without active listening, apps track your browsing and activity patterns across platforms. These behaviors help shape your profile. Your audio searches and interactions are collected and analyzed, much like your typed searches. Using this data, companies can better understand your preferences, track your location, and alter your online experience.

3. To satisfy your requests

Virtual assistants are designed to make your life easier. By listening to your voice, they enable you to access features and perform tasks more conveniently, like sending a text, finding a route on Google Maps, or ordering items online. Instead of having to navigate through multiple steps, speaking directly to your assistant does the heavy lifting.

4. To collect data for third-party apps  

Third-party apps often request microphone access as you install them. However, not all apps handle this permit ethically. Instead, some misuse these permissions to collect data for targeted ads or, worse, to eavesdrop on your sensitive conversations.

If you’re worried about your phone listening to you or someone spying on you through it, Clario's Anti-spy setup can help you take control of your device’s security. It’s a comprehensive guide to basic anti-spy protection measures. All you need to do is follow its recommendations.

Here’s how to use Clario's Anti-spy setup:

1. Install Clario Anti Spy on your mobile phone (Clario Anti Spy is compatible with macOS and Android) and set up an account.
2. Tap on the Anti-spy setup feature.
3. Tap what you want to protect, then simply follow the guide.

5. To improve voice assistant technology

Voice assistants are a convenient technology that can make daily tasks easier with just a simple voice command. Devices like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri can always hear you but only activate when you say their designated wake word. Then, they are ready to assist you when needed, from playing your favorite playlist to setting reminders.

However, there’s more to the story than this. Many voice assistants also analyze your conversational data, but not all use it the same way. For example, Google might use conversational data to refine ads and content recommendations tailored to your interests. On the other hand, Apple takes a privacy-focused approach. The company states that Siri doesn’t use your data to create marketing profiles or serve targeted ads.

If your phone always listening concerns you, explore how to stop your phone from listening with Clario’s Anti-spy setup.

What data does your phone collect while listening

Smartphones collect data when listening to you, such as keywords from your commands, search history, app usage, location data, and interactions with digital assistants.

Suspicions (or, what The Guardian calls “conspiracy theories”) about active listening by devices have two backgrounds:

• marketing is often astonishingly personalized
• most devices we use come from companies that have certain access to our data (see below)

Brands and digital companies already possess enormous amounts of data that reveal your habits and predict your purchases. So they don’t need to secretly listen in to understand you. In fact, there is NO data that proves your phone is constantly listening to you.

Ad relevancy could be explained by the “frequency illusion,” also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon. You see hundreds of ads daily, but it doesn’t seem like it because you ignore most of them. The only ones that catch your eye are highly relatable ads of products/services you need or want—and you might’ve mentioned this in a recent conversation. The resemblance can feel uncanny, even when it’s just a coincidence.

Regardless, companies do use your data to build consumer profiles for ad personalization. Here’s an outline of the type of information Siri and Google Assistant may access:

• location
• device names
• tasks, events, and alarms
• installed apps, contacts, and playlists

Some users worry that their phones also listen to their phone calls. If you’re wondering how to know if someone is listening to your calls, tap the link and find out how to stop it.

Is it legal for your phone to listen to you

Under most privacy laws (the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VA CDPA), the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CT DPA), etc.), your phone recording or listening to you without your consent is illegal. Legislation, like GDPR in the EU or CCPA in California, requires your consent to access your microphone or collect data. Tech companies generally operate under strict privacy regulations that vary by country.

Both Android and iPhones actively enforce strict privacy measures, including built-in indicators that notify you when an app is using your microphone or camera (when an app uses your camera/mic, a green/yellow indicator appears at the top right corner of your screen). So, no app can operate in secret.

Unfortunately, smart home devices, like smart speakers (e.g., Google Home), don’t always offer the same degree of transparency. They have hardware mute buttons to disable microphones. But, more often than not, these gadgets lack the privacy safeguards found on smartphones.

How to test if your phone is listening to you

If you’re suspicious of your phone listening to you, here are two simple tests to check it:

1. Talk about unrelated topics. Try discussing something completely unrelated to your interests, something you have never searched for or mentioned anywhere online. Then, keep an eye on ads and whether they’re related to that topic.
2. Revoke microphone permissions for selected apps. Go to your phone settings and check which apps have microphone access. Consider disabling access for apps that don’t require it and see if this reduces targeted ad activity.

This is basically how to check if your phone is being tracked by advertising conglomerates - just disable app microphone access for a few days and observe what happens.

Here’s how to disable app microphone access on iPhone:

1. Go to your Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Privacy & Security.
3. Select Microphone and toggle off the switch next to the app you want to limit microphone access.

Here’s how to disable app microphone access on Android:

1. Open your Settings.
2. Navigate to Privacy.
3. Under Controls and alerts, toggle off the switch next to Microphone access and Camera access (they should turn grey).

How to stop your smartphone from listening to you

Does your phone hear you? Yes. But there is something you can do about it. Start with limiting access to voice assistants.

Here’s how to stop Siri from listening to you:

1. Navigate to Settings and tap on Siri.
2. Select Talk to Siri.  
3. Tap Off.

Here’s how to stop Google Assistant from listening to you:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Google, then All Services.
3. Tap Settings for Google Apps, then Search, Assistant & Voice.
4. Choose Google Assistant.
5. Go to Hey Google & Voice Match and toggle off Hey Google.

Conclusion

Your smartphone can listen to you when prompted by voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. Activated upon hearing wake words, your phone may collect data to improve services or personalized ads. This is a violation of your privacy, and it’s well within your power to protect it. Download Clario’s Anti-Spy setup and take your first step toward a safer, more secure digital life today.