It has been the subject of multiple lawsuits, but can your iPhone listen to you? Many people would say yes—it’s not unusual to be served an advert on your iPhone after speaking about the brand or subject out loud—but no one has explicitly admitted it’s possible.
However, a recent article by 404 Media indicates that marketing companies can actually listen to smartphones to serve you ads.
The source is a marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group, which, according to 404 Media, claims it “has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads.”
The capability, dubbed “Active Listening,” can identify potential customers “based on casual conversations in real-time,” 404 Media says. While the feature exists, 404 Media does not confirm its use today.
While some people could see this as evidence your iPhone is listening to you, I am skeptical. It’s easy to forget how much data is collected about you via your apps and the permissions you grant them.
The likes of Facebook and Google collect so much data, it’s easy for them to know what you want before you even work it out. They can see what your friends search for on Google, so even if you didn’t type the words in, you could still receive an ad for the item you both discussed.
Apple Responds To Claims
Apple has responded to the claims that iPhones can listen to you, saying that apps need explicit consent to record and store your data. In fact, the iPhone maker told Apple-focused site iMore that doing so would violate App Store guidelines, which state:
“Apps must request explicit user consent and provide a clear visual and/or audible indication when recording, logging, or otherwise making a record of user activity. Data collected and stored must be made aware to the user, can be retracted at any time, and must be in line with current GDPR regulations.”
How To Know If Your iPhone Is Listening And How To Stop It
There are other ways your mic could be accessed, for example, via a spyware attack, which would allow adversaries to access everything you do on your iPhone. It’s worth noting that an orange dot will appear on the top right-hand corner of your iPhone when your microphone is in use, so if that’s lit when you are not speaking to someone, there could be an issue.
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature, released in iOS 14, requires apps to seek explicit permission before tracking you across other apps and services via a pop up box. Saying no allows you to prevent apps from using your data to target you with advertising.
You can go to your iPhone Settings > Privacy & Security and check which apps have access to the mic. You can also go to Tracking and turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track.”
If any apps are already tracking you on your iPhone, you can view and turn this off here.
If you are extra cautious, you can disable Apple’s voice assistant Siri in your settings by going to Settings > Siri & Search > where you can turn “Listen for Siri” off.
Another useful tool is Apple’s App Privacy Report, available in Privacy & Security, which shows the iPhone apps that have access to your photos, camera or microphone. You can then change those permissions if you wish.
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