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

(newatlas.com)
369 points zeech | 9 comments | 26 Apr 25 00:26 UTC | HN request time: 0.203s | source | bottom
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limbero ◴[26 Apr 25 17:01 UTC] No.43805260[source]▶
This article reminds me of this excellent tongue-in-cheek piece of writing by Jonathan Zeller in McSweeney's:

Calm Down—Your Phone Isn’t Listening to Your Conversations. It’s Just Tracking Everything You Type, Every App You Use, Every Website You Visit, and Everywhere You Go in the Physical World

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/calm-down-your-phone-isn...

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1. hammock ◴[26 Apr 25 23:51 UTC] No.43808289[source]▶
The article omits a real, serious source of microphone data though: your smart TV. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my TV (a Toshiba Fire TV, although I’m sure many do it) is listening to every conversation I have within earshot, even when I am not using the voice remote, and selling it to ad networks.

And of course it is also doing screen recognition (the kind of stuff OP article mentions), but that is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about microphone data picking up live conversation from people in the room.

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2. shermantanktop ◴[27 Apr 25 00:41 UTC] No.43808493[source]▶
Beyond a shadow of a doubt? Can you describe what you’ve experienced?
3. walterbell ◴[27 Apr 25 00:48 UTC] No.43808511[source]▶
Privacy-seeking users have physically removed microphones from phones. This should also be possible with laptops and televisions.

If Toshiba Fire TV is related to Amazon Fire TV, then it may include Alexa for voice recognition, which could be optionally disabled. In theory, Alexa is only activated after on-device recognition of the configured wake word.

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4. api ◴[27 Apr 25 00:50 UTC] No.43808522[source]▶
I am suspicious of all “smart” devices, much more so than phones because phones have a lot more scrutiny on them.

If your smart toaster, light bulb, or fridge was listening to you, would anyone even notice? Does anyone examine these devices in depth?

5. dyauspitr ◴[27 Apr 25 01:00 UTC] No.43808578[source]▶
Removed microphones from… phones? How do you use the phone then?
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6. detaro ◴[27 Apr 25 01:03 UTC] No.43808587{3}[source]▶
Most things people use phones for nowadays don't need a microphone. And in the rare case you do, you plug in/connect a headset.
7. walterbell ◴[27 Apr 25 01:59 UTC] No.43808879{3}[source]▶
Headset.
8. userbinator ◴[27 Apr 25 02:36 UTC] No.43809013[source]▶
Who would even want a microphone in a TV?

It's like that old Soviet Russia joke, except it's not a joke.

9. afiori ◴[27 Apr 25 23:03 UTC] No.43815866[source]▶
Another source of audio data is the accelerometer, which often has laxer permissions