Our phones are listening to our TV as well as everything we say!

So I wasn't really sure where to put this or how to even address this, so I just started typing and I'll format and organize it as I go.

I think most of us are aware with modern smartphones with "ok Google now", and "hey Siri" voice recognitiont tech, basically your phone is always listening for those keywords, and most of us know that these technologies can and ARE used to record much more: techcrunch.com...

But 2days ago something strange happened; my laptop advertised something to me from a conversation my wife and I had in the kitchen. I know for a fact I did not google search this on my phone or hers, or obviously on the computer. It made me a bit uneasy, but I wasn't surprised it happened, just surprised the tech came this far this fast and scared at the implications.

And then what made me create this post happened yesterday at my sisters house: The TV show "Big bang theory" was on, about medium volume, several family and I were talking different subjects; politics, sports etc etc, typical family gathering, loud young kids playing also. I was paying zero attention to the show on TV and personally I've never liked the show anyway. No one made any mention of the show at all, and I didn't even realize it was on until I picked up my phone and searched something, on a resulting page which had embedded ads, there was a huge ad for Big Bang Theory.

This show has NEVER been adveretised toward me online at all,and google is pretty damn good with their targeted marketing technology. So basically there must have been some subsonic technology or Audio tagging/fingerprinting that my phone recognized within the TV show, Google determined I was watching the show, and tried to sell me the BigBangTheory box set.

I think this was the image in the ad: box349.listingfactoryhost.net...

I know Sony has a tech called Cinavia that makes my Playstation stop playing any downloaded media just from some sort of inaudible sound tag in the audio track, and Shazam has been doing TV ad tagging for years now (initiated by the USER, not automatic) , but I guess it has all gone a step further now. I'm sure I'm just an idiot who is behind the times, but this really disturbed me and I've been thinking about it all day. I spent a bit of time googling and came up with these two articles that touch on the subject.

Beware of ads that use inaudible sound to link your phone, TV, tablet, and PC

Your Phone Is Listening—Literally Listening—to Your TV

Ads Surreptitiously Using Sound to Communicate Across Devices

Auto Shazam Automatically Recognizes Music and TV Around You


I'm leaving those links here and posting while I go read them and wait for your thoughts on this.

Count my mind blown.




.

I've been noticing this a lot recently and it makes me feel so uneasy. A conversation, the TV, or the radio and my phone starts giving me ads for these things. Not a good feeling.

Great post.

Yep. Been happening a lot lately. Was just on Florida with relatives I haven't talked to in 10 year and they brought it up . Talked to my girlfriend back home that same night and she brought it up! A silly debate about the merits of digerno pizza(or in my opinion, lack there of..) for immediate digerno iphone browser adds.

Soon I will try to test it... Talk about buying a boat or something .... Probably not that though now that I typed it..

Is this any surprise? We have known this or at least suspected for years.. They admit it so slowly that we don't even get mad about it anymore. Similar to the frog in the pot..


a reply to: 8675309jenny

originally posted by: SteamyJeans
Yep. Been happening a lot lately. Was just on Florida with relatives I haven't talked to in 10 year and they brought it up . Talked to my girlfriend back home that same night and she brought it up! A silly debate about the merits of digerno pizza(or in my opinion, lack there of..) for immediate digerno iphone browser adds.

Soon I will try to test it... Talk about buying a boat or something .... Probably not that though now that I typed it..

Is this any surprise? We have known this or at least suspected for years.. They admit it so slowly that we don't even get mad about it anymore. Similar to the frog in the pot..


a reply to: 8675309jenny

I'm in Florida also, but I'm sure it's national or wider already.

The frog in the pot is exactly the right analogy! I agreed to some new iPhone app store crap today without reading a word of it because I was in a hurry and who the hell reads 90pages of legalese anyway right? Man were all f**ked lol, off to hell in a handbasket eh?

I kind of faded out finishing reading you post because it was evident what happened or you would say was gonna happen when you saud you had Big Bang theory on really loud, people talking loudly. I don't know which smartphone you have. I have an iPhone , so it's Siri. She is always responding to chatter, taking commands when I did not initiate it. That's her job after all.

She thought she was asked to google Big Bang theory by whoever said it

I sometimes bang my phone and she says " sorry I didn't quite catch that" I usually say I wasn't talking to you, you're so nosey lol " I'm sorry I don't see a centact called you're so nosey, shall I search the web for it". Sometimes I bang my phone and she knows she got banged and says " oopsie daisy I appear to have hit something with my hypersonic whatever"

I noticed one of the apps that does this is Skype, Need some confirmation that im not just paranoid. I don't even voice chat over skype, But if its open in the background ill get ad's displayed on mobile/pc on Skype that had to do with conversations i had around my phone.

a reply to: 8675309jenny

This has been a years-long discussion here on ATS about TPTB turning on and off our phones/w cameras and mics...even with the lights being out with no way to realize that they are even on!

Youve just proved they can...and more and more its been proven....moreso this last year. Kinda scary for sure. Thanks for this thread.

People need to be aware. "Big Brother is Watching!" For sure.....

MS

PS I tape over my camera lens on phone and laptop...mics too....

However , if Siri is made to listen, then obviously you have software installed to do that. Turn the mic off if it makes you paranoid or turn off Siri

She does sometimes turn on even if I didn't bang my phone or say anything.

Yea we will get what we deserve... I too recently agreed to an iPhone thing recently and who knows what I agreed to? Probably my first born... You'd think all the time I spend here on ATS I would know better... Convenience is King.

Also I should have mentioned digerno convo took place in Michigan. I was visiting Florida . Luckily I'm back home now.
Nation wide for sure.


iPhone is just the obvious one... I could get myself in trouble if I spend too much time thinking about all the other possible ways of listening In on us. Very sad.



a reply to: 8675309jenny

originally posted by: violet
I kind of faded out finishing reading you post because it was evident what happened or you would say was gonna happen when you saud you had Big Bang theory on really loud, people talking loudly. I don't know which smartphone you have. I have an iPhone , so it's Siri. She is always responding to chatter, taking commands when I did not initiate it. That's her job after all.

She thought she was asked to google Big Bang theory by whoever said it

I sometimes bang my phone and she says " sorry I didn't quite catch that" I usually say I wasn't talking to you, you're so nosey lol " I'm sorry I don't see a centact called you're so nosey, shall I search the web for it". Sometimes I bang my phone and she knows she got banged and says " oopsie daisy I appear to have hit something with my hypersonic whatever"

Maybe you should have continued reading. I didn't say the TV was loud (It wasn't), nobody said Big Bang Theory and the nobody said Siri, and the phone did not search anything by itself. I notice every time it does that. The webpage I went to had a huge targeted advert for BigBangTheory, so the phone must have picked up some audio tag or ultrasonic tag.

Please read the links, apparently this is now a normal thing.

My intention was to say it doesn't freak me out, but at the same time it's a smart phone, it's smart. Siri wasn't invented because they care so much about us and thought they would provide a secretar. Indeed they can be operated remotely. It's up to you to go through settings and dusble this #! Go through settings after each update to be sure it's all the settings you want. Turn off location settings if you don't want your location known
I see so many idiots posting photos online that if you save one it will tell you exactly where the photo was taken ... On a map! Click don't allow on everything
If it freaks you out ditch the phone, but you will soon discover the old school phones are no longer available.

a reply to: 8675309jenny

Ok will do sorry

Mine is likely bored from hearing the paint dry

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: 8675309jenny

This has been a years-long discussion here on ATS about TPTB turning on and off our phones/w cameras and mics...even with the lights being out with no way to realize that they are even on!

Youve just proved they can...and more and more its been proven....moreso this last year. Kinda scary for sure. Thanks for this thread.

People need to be aware. "Big Brother is Watching!" For sure.....

MS

PS I tape over my camera lens on phone and laptop...mics too....

Oh I never doubted for a second the authorities could do this and I'm sure feds can do it without awrrants etc. As far back as 2010 people were in the news for hacking their spouses/ex's phone so they could see or hear anything. So obviously NSA would be many steps ahead already.

Actually it just occured to me this could be part of the reason for welfare smartphones....

originally posted by: violet
My intention was to say it doesn't freak me out, but at the same time it's a smart phone, it's smart. Siri wasn't invented because they care so much about us and thought they would provide a secretar. Indeed they can be operated remotely. It's up to you to go through settings and dusble this #! Go through settings after each update to be sure it's all the settings you want. Turn off location settings if you don't want your location known
I see so many idiots posting photos online that if you save one it will tell you exactly where the photo was taken ... On a map! Click don't allow on everything
If it freaks you out ditch the phone, but you will soon discover the old school phones are no longer available.

100% agreed, call me paranoid but I'm sure it's still listening regardless of what I set it to.

Well duh!!! There is a reason you must take the batteries out of cell-phones when going into government facilities which have sensitive info.

a reply to: 8675309jenny
Does your sister have a smart tv? The article says the devices are communicating and likely they are both yours. But ok you say it was your sisters tv. Do you both share the same wifi or same billing?

I haven't had that happen yet. Only the examples I gave have happened. The only weird thing my phone sometimes does is turn on music I didn't choose or played last or even recently. I try to be logical about it. Perhaps I pocket dished my music app one day , picked a random album, never hit play , but it was set to go the next time I pocket dial the slide up control centre. It freaked me out the first time when it was van halen running with the devil! I have the album but never listen to it hardly. Last week it was little river band which was actually a nice song I forgot sbout .

The other night I'm in bed and just got to sleep and the dumb timer goes off wakes me up. I just noticed the clock app is in the slide up screen , so perhaps I slid it up not knowing and activated it?

I am constantly pocket dialling on it. I just think its me doing it!

Anyways I'm not concerned anything I have to say is if importance to big brother, but that's just me ... I'm pretty boring.

However, ok I believe you and if you say it was unnerving, it must have been.
I thank you for bringing it to my attention and to ATS of course. I'll flag your thread so others can know about it

Apologies

a reply to: 8675309jenny

Is there a way to disable these features?

Very disturbing.

a reply to: Metallicus

Tupperware... pocket sized would be a good idea water proof and floats.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

You can't take the batteries out of the newer phones or laptops. Craps getting hardcore.

*Waiting for Hardcore Henry ad to appear*