@Sheril not new (Link is from 2016) You have to turn out the rights for the mic, especially for the fb messenger

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/facebook-using-people-s-phones-to-listen-in-on-what-they-re-saying-claims-professor-a7057526.html

@Sheril I feel vindicated by the fact I don't trust keeping any Meta apps on my main phone - I have a few of their apps on a burner phone with a dongle that cuts off microphone access, tape over the cameras, an empty address book and an empty camera roll.

I know I may seem crazy for this, but I don't trust Meta one bit

@Sheril
I wonder if they bypass Android permissions. I'm very mindful of what app gets what permission and very few get my microphone or camera.

FWIW it’s not just Meta.

In Fall 2019, an employee from another prominent social media company told me this was common. /2

@Sheril Interesting article. I always wondered how they could get away with streaming unauthorized audio data from our phones (and our data plans that we pay for!) in order to potentially listen in to convos.

However, this 'Active Listening' software appears to do the audio analysis on the phone itself, probably keyword-based. I might be wrong about this interpretation - please correct me if so.

It's no less insidious, but it does provide some insight into how it's done.

@Sheril

There isn't any oversight and the only real standards are opt-in.

@Sheril Stupid question, why is your phone not degoogled yet, and why are using ad-based apps on it?

As the article mentions, at least in some jurisdictions, that's all at least partially legal by the users using these apps.

(Those won't fly probably in places that have limits on ToS being surprising, etc)

It's a bit like complaining that the party of face munching leopards is feasting on your faces after YOU ELECTED them to office. What did you expect? Them respecting your privacy?

@Sheril
It’s a battle for our privacy at so many levels.
Friendly app for social media. Never install a social media app!
Adblocking on all websites.
Sandbox to a different browser for a website will only work with blocking turned off, and nuke the browser when you’re done.
Email service that explicitly respects your privacy, strips out tracking pixels, and is non profit.
Never leave mic and camera permissions turned on when you’re done using an app.

@Sheril how would they circumvent the indicator light?

@Sheril
This has been going on for years. My wife and I noticed it pre-pandemic, but that may have been via Google Home rather than the phones themselves.
@NuanceRhymesWithOrange

@Sheril
I suppose texting just makes it easier.
Think I will have a lot of contrived conversations now about how I avoid palm oil in products, avoid companies that are anti-DEI, etc.

@Sheril I wouldn't be surprised either if they were lying (or at least exaggerating) to attract customers

@Sheril hardly true, as it would need permissions

@Sheril Is there any evidence this is actually happening? This claim from CMG is a few years old, I think, but I haven't read anything to suggest it’s more than a scummy ad company making up shit to sell ads.

@Sheril

@Sheril should see what their developers do as jokes. It is as intense as are the lack of procedure to address it when you report to Apple someone was already generating bots off the data as of 2020.

@Sheril Google smart speakers also do this. I have twice had Google services present me with information for things that were talked about in front of the speaker but never searched for, in one case by someone else without my phone present. Google denied it, even after I sicced the UK Information Commissioner on them, but it's the only possible explanation.

@Sheril
Have we just gone back in time?