It’s common to wonder whether your phone is listening to you, especially when you start noticing ads or recommendations related to things you’ve only talked about. While it’s not exactly your phone actively eavesdropping, there are certain ways phones collect information that might make it seem that way. Here’s how you can figure out if your phone is listening to you, and how to stop it:
Increased Targeted Ads
If you’ve been talking about something but haven’t searched for it online, and then you see ads related to that topic, your phone might be gathering data from apps or the microphone.
Voice Assistant Activation
If your voice assistant (like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa) activates when you’re not directly speaking to it, this could indicate your phone is passively listening for a trigger phrase.
Unusual App Permissions
Some apps request access to your microphone or camera, even if they don’t seem to need it. If you’re noticing strange activity like background noise being picked up or apps you don’t use regularly having microphone access, it could be a sign.
Sudden Recommendations
If you haven’t searched for a product or service but you start seeing ads for it or get recommendations based on casual conversation, it might suggest that your phone is listening to conversations in some form.
Here are few steps to stop your phones listening to you
Review App Permissions
- On iOS, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone to see which apps have access to your microphone.
- On Android, go to Settings > Privacy > Permission Manager > Microphone to see the apps using your mic.
Disable Voice Assistants
If you’re concerned about Siri, Google Assistant, or other voice assistants, you can turn off their “always listening” feature:
- Siri (iOS): Go to Settings > Siri & Search and turn off “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’” and “Allow Siri When Locked.”
- Google Assistant (Android): Go to Settings > Google > Account services > Search, Assistant & Voice > Voice and turn off “Hey Google.”
Limit Ad Personalization
Turn off personalized ads that might be based on microphone data:
- On iOS, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking and disable Allow Apps to Request to Track.
- On Android, go to Settings > Google > Ads and turn on Opt out of Ads Personalization.
Disable Background App Refresh
Many apps refresh in the background and might access your data. You can disable this feature to prevent apps from constantly pulling data.
- On iOS, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn it off.
- On Android, go to Settings > Apps > [App Name] > Mobile data & Wi-Fi and disable background data.
Turn Off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi When Not in Use
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections could allow apps to gather data when you’re near other devices, so turning them off when not needed can help limit your phone’s ability to collect information.
Clear Voice Assistant Data
Regularly clear your voice assistant’s data to prevent it from storing your conversations:
- For Siri, go to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri History and delete your history.
- For Google Assistant, go to Google Assistant Settings > Your data in Assistant > Activity Controls and manage/delete your voice recordings.
