In news that has vindicated many, MANY suspicious minds this past week, we now finally have some concrete proof that certain advertisers were finding ways to use our phones as listening devices, targeting us with very specific ads that just so happened to relate to recent conversations we would have.
At this point, in the year 2024, each and every one of us has had a moment of pause when scrolling our favorite apps only to stumble upon an ad for a product, service, or other item of interest we’d just recently had a conversation about.
“No, Your Phone Is Not Listening To You” has always been the response to such eyebrow-raising claims, despite the increased quantity and explicit examples of hearsay-dismissed evidence. Though the claims against this mysterious occurrence are flimsy at best (“you silly goof, you’re not important enough to eavesdrop on…”), many, MANY of us still held firm that the devices that have (in most ways) changed our livelihoods for the better, were also performing less than honest tasks in the background unbeknownst to us, the humble consumer.
A slide deck from the Cox Media Group (CMG), obtained by the digital sleuths at 404 Media, shows a service they provide called “Active Listening,” which asks potential clients “What would it mean for your business if you could target potential clients who are actively discussing their need for your services in their day-to-day conversations?”
Now, I am but a simple marketer (who knows how to read), but to me, it sure sounds like “active listening” in a way that could “target potential clients actively discussing their need for your services” is, well, exactly what has always been brazenly dismissed as us “just imagining things,” right here in plain language in the pitch of this slide deck.
That’s right, this is a sales pitch for a marketing service that claims to listen to potential customers via their devices to place ads for those products and services. Still skeptical? How about a few more quotes from that slide deck:
“No, it’s not a Black Mirror episode – it’s Voice Data, and CMG has the capabilities to use it to your business advantage.”
“Creepy? Sure. Great for marketing? Definitely.”
“Don’t just know what they are searching for. Know what they are talking about.”
“Identify buyers based on casual conversations in real time.”
And, juuuuuuust in case you had any more doubt, a quote from the intro to the slide deck:
“Yes, Our Phones Are Listening to Us.”
lol.
You can read the whole thing, and all of its illuminating (and vindicating!) details here, in language that has since been scrubbed from the company’s website: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24224884-how-voice-data-works-and-how-you-can-use-it-in-your-business-cmg-local-solutions?ref=404media.co
For the record, the companies they are claiming to have partnered with for such endeavors include Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon all claim they are not using these features in separate statements provided to Mashable, the digital media platform.
“Meta does not use your phone's microphone for ads and we've been public about this for years. We are reaching out to CMG to get them to clarify that their program is not based on Meta data."
"Amazon Ads has never worked with CMG on this program and has no plans to do so."
“All advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations as well as our Google Ads policies, and when we identify ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we will take appropriate action."
“We are investigating and will take any necessary actions in line with our policies."
We're Not Crazy!
So, we have a company claiming “we’ve successfully used this for many big companies before,” and the companies mentioned providing some boilerplate statements from their fainting couches. Needless to say, it doesn’t really make one feel better that all the gaslighting was just that, and all those claims that we were simply picking up on some (many) well-timed coincidences fueled by marketing’s savviest companies were flat out bogus.
However, “being right” does feel great, so we’ll just bask in the knowledge that our intuitions are probably reasonably sound (I mean, we have repeated evidence, right? There’s no way I am coincidentally getting an ad for a cat tongue brush immediately after learning about it when someone asked me “have you seen the cat tongue brush,” to which I responded “what’s a cat tongue brush?!”) and see how we can navigate this knowledge moving forward.
After all, it’s not like the sudden revelation that the thing we all thought was true turning out to be true is going to dissuade the creepiness!
Ford Seeks Patent For Tech That Listens To Driver Conversations To Serve Ads
Brace yourselves. You’ll be SHOCKED to learn that just this week, Ford revealed their own plans to listen in on your conversations while you are in your vehicle.
While some might find that to be a terrible application for invasive technology, Ford disagrees:
“Ford Motor Company is seeking a patent for technology that would allow it to tailor in-car advertising by listening to conversations among vehicle occupants, as well as by analyzing a car’s historical location and other data, according to a patent application published late last month.”
Again, as a marketer, whose job it is to find ways to help bridge the gap between business and consumer, I strongly support launching this idea directly into the sun.
Furthermore, that’s a pretty short leap from “this isn’t happening” to “let’s do this everywhere” in a fairly short time. And for a “service” that you are paying more than ever to be obliged to opt into.
Who’s interested in having to pay a hefty price tag for a surveillance device to get your groceries and take the kids to school? At least this time, maybe they’ll be kind enough to let us know they are doing it? Right?
This also really only addresses the “active listening” aspect of this endeavor without really taking stock of the primary goal here, which is to turn your personal vehicle into a place to sell ads. In a world where we are constantly being taken hostage by the things we used to just own to try and squeeze more revenue out of a consumer base who has grown increasingly tired of subscription services piling on.
It’s pretty easy to take the global temperature and find that consumers have long been fed up with the over-insertion of ads (and their increasing desire to make them creepier). The question is, how much research do they put into the success rate of these ads vs. how many potential consumers they turn off because of it?
I’m guessing that data, if it even exists, scarcely makes the slide decks. But I have a pretty good indication of what it might say!
Until the surveillance overlords completely remove the ability to escape the clutches of advertising’s shadier side, you can at least check your phone/tablet/smart TV’s settings to limit your micrphone’s connected apps and when they can access it. (And keep an eye out for the apps that ask for access!)
How To Check Apps With Microphone Access On Your Phone:
iPhone:
Settings>Privacy & Security>Microphone (Turn off apps you don’t want to give access to)
Android:
Settings>Security & Privacy>Camera Access/Microphone Access (Turn off apps you don’t want to give access to)
