Take this simple test to find out if your phone is spying on you
No matter how many times we've said that your phones are not listening to you in order to serve you targeted ads, we keep hearing from smartphone users who are convinced otherwise. These phone owners were just speaking about something out of the ordinary, say cowboy hats for example, and started receiving ads and stories all about cowboy hats on their phones. Researchers at NordVPN have come up with a simple four-part test that will let you prove to yourself whether someone or something is listening to your conversations via your phone.
The first step is to find a unique topic that you've never searched for before. This should be a subject matter that you typically do not discuss and is unrelated to your areas of interest. Then you should engage in separate conversations about this subject with your phone nearby. While you should continue to use your phone as you normally do, it is important not to conduct any searches for your chosen subject. Also, do not interact with any content that is related to the subject matter you selected for this test.
When discussing the subject matter you selected while in close proximity to your phone, NordVPN recommends saying specific keywords. As an example, if your test topic is a vacation to a certain location, talk about hotels or sights to see in the specific country. Then, over the next few days or weeks, pay attention to the ads that you are receiving on your phone and other devices. Look for ads related to the test topic you chose when looking at the apps you open, the websites you browse, and even on social media platforms.
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"While we typically brush them off as innocent and necessary, they (advertisements) are a strong indicator that you are allowing your device too much access to your personal data and interests."-Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer, NordVPN
If you start seeing that chosen topic appear in your ads, it means that your phone has been listening to you talk after all and has been using that information to send you targeted ads. NordVPN conducted its own tests and the Virtual Private Network discovered that topics that its researchers talked about in front of their phones that they had never Googled before started showing up in ads just a few days later.
What do you think? Did you take the test? What were the results? Let us know by dropping your comments in the box below.
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Things that are NOT allowed: