Author Topic: Is Google/WhatsApp/Facebook listening to our conversations for targeted ads? (Read 107802 times)

Elmo! · « **Reply #520 on:** March 21, 2018, 09:30:32 pm »

As Craig says, there is nothing new come out as far as I can see about devices recording everything you say. In fact what we have seen is how it is possible for Facebook etc to get all this information about you without having to record you.

Red_Irishman · « **Reply #521 on:** March 22, 2018, 12:20:07 am »

This happens for sure, I'm convinced of it.

Many times when I speak about certain things, especially during phone calls, an ad pops up some time later related to it.

For instance I was talking on the phone about batteries one evening, sizes and what brand to get (For a child's toy). Then low and behold two ads for Duracell on Instagram that evening.

That's just one instance, feel like this happens the whole time. Only found out the other day about the audio recordings in my Google activity. Imagine what's going on that we don't know

Skidder. · « **Reply #522 on:** March 22, 2018, 12:21:06 am »

Quote from: Red_Irishman on March 22, 2018, 12:20:07 am

This happens for sure, I'm convinced of it.

Many times when I speak about certain things, especially during phone calls, an ad pops up some time later related to it.

For instance I was talking on the phone about batteries one evening, sizes and what brand to get (For a child's toy). Then low and behold two ads for Duracell on Instagram that evening.

That's just one instance, feel like this happens the whole time. Only found out the other day about the audio recordings in my Google activity. Imagine what's going on that we don't know

What's your network and phone model man?

Red_Irishman · « **Reply #523 on:** March 22, 2018, 12:24:05 am »

Quote from: Kidder. on March 22, 2018, 12:21:06 am

What's your network and phone model man?

With Three in Ireland. Samsung S7 edge mate.

rob1966 · « **Reply #524 on:** March 22, 2018, 02:18:06 pm »

Quote from: Red_Irishman on March 22, 2018, 12:20:07 am

This happens for sure, I'm convinced of it.

Many times when I speak about certain things, especially during phone calls, an ad pops up some time later related to it.

For instance I was talking on the phone about batteries one evening, sizes and what brand to get (For a child's toy). Then low and behold two ads for Duracell on Instagram that evening.

That's just one instance, feel like this happens the whole time. Only found out the other day about the audio recordings in my Google activity. Imagine what's going on that we don't know

I noticed that last summer, Google were asking for permission to record voice so that they could improve the voice recognition software.

to be honest, we lost all anonymity years ago. Loyalty cards that track your purchases came out years ago and with smartphones they know every move you make, where you shop, where you live, where you work, where you eat and drink etc etc etc.

BlackandWhitePaul · « **Reply #525 on:** March 22, 2018, 08:57:32 pm »

I do not use Google, ever, I do not use Facebook or any other so called social media, well apart from RAWK I suppose, and youtube if you class youtube as social media.

I have 2 apps on my phone, one called Block Mic and the other called Camera Guard so nobody is spying on me via the microphone or camera on my phone.

Eeyore · « **Reply #526 on:** March 22, 2018, 09:59:10 pm »

Quote from: elmo_swatloski on March 21, 2018, 09:30:32 pm

As Craig says, there is nothing new come out as far as I can see about devices recording everything you say. In fact what we have seen is how it is possible for Facebook etc to get all this information about you without having to record you.

The technology is there so the only thing stopping them from recording everything you say is there honesty and integrity. Nuff said.

Lfsea · « **Reply #527 on:** March 23, 2018, 03:16:55 pm »

Quote from: Black & White Paul on March 22, 2018, 08:57:32 pm

I have 2 apps on my phone, one called Block Mic and the other called Camera Guard so nobody is spying on me via the microphone or camera on my phone.

Apart from those 2 apps

Elmo! · « **Reply #528 on:** March 23, 2018, 05:34:49 pm »

Quote from: Al 555 on March 22, 2018, 09:59:10 pm

The technology is there so the only thing stopping them from recording everything you say is there honesty and integrity. Nuff said.

It's debatable if the technology is there (without being caught out), but that wasn't my point anyway.

conman · « **Reply #529 on:** March 23, 2018, 06:06:14 pm »

Quote from: Black & White Paul on March 22, 2018, 08:57:32 pm

I do not use Google, ever, I do not use Facebook or any other so called social media, well apart from RAWK I suppose, and youtube if you class youtube as social media.

I have 2 apps on my phone, one called Block Mic and the other called Camera Guard so nobody is spying on me via the microphone or camera on my phone.

Well, youtube is Google.
Android is Google (if you have such a phone).
iCloud runs on Google Cloud, if you have that type of phone.
Google maps is Google.

Plus, you don't need a Google or Facebook account for them to track you, they will create a shadow profile for you and store the data anyway.
Then there's the banks, credit companies and other players too.

oojason · « **Reply #530 on:** March 29, 2018, 11:54:15 pm »

'Are you ready? Here's all the data Facebook and Google have on you'...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/all-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy

& https://twitter.com/iamdylancurran & https://imgur.com/gallery/jrv03 are worth a look at too.

oojason · « **Reply #531 on:** March 30, 2018, 12:00:49 pm »

Explosive Facebook Memo Leaks: Top Exec Defended Growth Even If People Get Killed - https://fossbytes.com/explosive-facebook-memo-leaked-boz-defended-growth/

Facebook 'ugly truth' growth memo haunts firm - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43594959

jason67 · « **Reply #532 on:** March 30, 2018, 03:14:15 pm »

Quote from: oojason on March 30, 2018, 12:00:49 pm

Explosive Facebook Memo Leaks: Top Exec Defended Growth Even If People Get Killed - https://fossbytes.com/explosive-facebook-memo-leaked-boz-defended-growth/

Facebook 'ugly truth' growth memo haunts firm - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43594959

Yeah but if you read the report he says he didn't mean it so that all right then, isn't it?

Seems like a very trustworthy fella to me which makes the fact that large corporations would ever lie very unlikely.......

wige · « **Reply #533 on:** April 10, 2018, 12:49:54 pm »

Quote from: oojason on March 29, 2018, 11:54:15 pm

'Are you ready? Here's all the data Facebook and Google have on you'...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/all-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy

& https://twitter.com/iamdylancurran & https://imgur.com/gallery/jrv03 are worth a look at too.

Christ. I new it existed, but still. Christ.

Lfsea · « **Reply #534 on:** April 10, 2018, 02:11:05 pm »

Interestingly, I've had no recurrence of these issues since I switched back to an iPhone and have deleted Facebook completely.

BlackandWhitePaul · « **Reply #535 on:** April 10, 2018, 09:03:11 pm »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyJosQBtzsw

Zuckerberg is sweating like a pig here.

BlackandWhitePaul · « **Reply #536 on:** April 10, 2018, 09:29:54 pm »

Quote from: Black & White Paul on April 10, 2018, 09:03:11 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyJosQBtzsw

Zuckerberg is sweating like a pig here.

Zuckerberg before Congress, this is good viewing, he's getting roasted here

Something Worse · « **Reply #537 on:** April 10, 2018, 10:46:49 pm »

Quote from: Alan_X on March 2, 2016, 09:05:38 pm

No they aren't.

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #538 on:** April 11, 2018, 08:06:11 pm »

They may not be yet, but they'd like to.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/amazon-alexa-patent-listening-to-me-facebook-phone-talking-ads-a8300246.html

BlackandWhitePaul · « **Reply #539 on:** April 16, 2018, 09:53:33 am »

Time Ladies and Gentlemen please.

Wetherspoon's are out.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43781281

CraigDS · « **Reply #540 on:** April 16, 2018, 10:12:16 am »

Quote from: Black & White Paul on April 16, 2018, 09:53:33 am

Time Ladies and Gentlemen please.

Wetherspoon's are out.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43781281

Not a surprise, the time that social media takes to do properly is pretty consuming, and expensive if you bring in a 3rd party company to manage it. For a company like Wetherspoons, where a lot of its target market can be reached in other ways, it kind of makes sense to not bother. Plus they can still market on there without having an active page and drive people to their website.

Expect we’ll see plenty more companies taking the same decision, or at least really limiting the amount they use it.

oojason · « **Reply #541 on:** April 17, 2018, 02:53:00 pm »

'Facebook admits it does track non-users, for their own good'...

('Oh that snitch-code? It's just a little thing to make the web more convenient ... for Facebook and its advertisers')

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/17/facebook_admits_to_tracking_non_users/

oojason · « **Reply #542 on:** May 25, 2018, 09:39:56 am »

'You know that silly fear about Alexa recording everything and leaking it online? It just happened'

US pair's private chat sent to coworker by AI bug

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/24/alexa_recording_couple/

CraigDS · « **Reply #543 on:** May 25, 2018, 09:42:46 am »

TBF, that’s a weird story that involves a lot of strange coincidences happening as well as them not hearing the multiple responses from the device itself.

Lfsea · « **Reply #544 on:** May 25, 2018, 09:47:08 am »

Quote from: CraigDS on May 25, 2018, 09:42:46 am

TBF, that’s a weird story that involves a lot of strange coincidences happening as well as them not hearing the multiple responses from the device itself.

Weirdly I don't see it was particularly weird. There must be millions of Alexa devices and therefore billions of conversations have gone through the Alexa servers. The idea that one conversation will have happened in a sequence that triggered Alexa to do something very specific isn't all that outlandish especially if they were having a hearty debate about whatever it was.

CraigDS · « **Reply #545 on:** May 25, 2018, 09:58:05 am »

Quote from: Lfsea on May 25, 2018, 09:47:08 am

Weirdly I don't see it was particularly weird. There must be millions of Alexa devices and therefore billions of conversations have gone through the Alexa servers. The idea that one conversation will have happened in a sequence that triggered Alexa to do something very specific isn't all that outlandish especially if they were having a hearty debate about whatever it was.

They were apparently talking about wood floors

CraigDS · « **Reply #546 on:** May 25, 2018, 10:00:28 am »

Amazon's response....

"Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like "Alexa." Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a "send message" request. At which point, Alexa said out loud "To whom?" At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact list. Alexa then asked out loud, "[contact name], right?" Alexa then interpreted background conversation as "right". As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."

Skidder. · « **Reply #547 on:** June 1, 2018, 10:50:25 pm »

Quote from: oojason on May 25, 2018, 09:39:56 am

'You know that silly fear about Alexa recording everything and leaking it online? It just happened'

US pair's private chat sent to coworker by AI bug

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/24/alexa_recording_couple/

Quote

The couple then went around their home unplugging all their Amazon Alexa gadgets – they had them all over the place to manage various smart home devices, including a thermostat and security system – and then called the web giant to complain about the snooping tech.

Serves them right if true - I hate the thought of people being 'bugged' or listened in on via their phones, but if you're going to pay a digital maid nowadays, you can't moan when she throws a wobbler.

conman · « **Reply #548 on:** June 1, 2018, 11:53:39 pm »

Quote from: Kidder. on June 1, 2018, 10:50:25 pm

Serves them right if true - I hate the thought of people being 'bugged' or listened in on via their phones, but if you're going to pay a digital maid nowadays, you can't moan when she throws a wobbler.

whilst i understand your point of view, based on previous.

The fact of the matter is, if you buy a thermostat, it shouldn't be spying on you. So Google/Amazon, etc should be held accountable.

Alan_X · « **Reply #549 on:** June 3, 2018, 10:10:58 am »

Quote from: conman on June 1, 2018, 11:53:39 pm

whilst i understand your point of view, based on previous.

The fact of the matter is, if you buy a thermostat, it shouldn't be spying on you. So Google/Amazon, etc should be held accountable.

Alexa is not a thermostat - it's an advanced voice recognition device with AI that interprets your commands once it hears a command word. If you buy a system that is specifically designed to eavesdrop on you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then you shouldn't get upset if it occasionally mis-hears what you say.

I don't have an Alexa and won't have one. I don't use Siri either because they are imperfect and obviously prone to mistakes.

"...I bought a complex device that is complicated way beyond my own expertise and comprehension and I have zero understanding of what is really going on the background to make it work, who or what it communicates with and is governed by terms and conditions that I have never bothered to actually read... ...but hey... it's someone else's problem when it makes a mistake..."

Skidder. · « **Reply #550 on:** June 7, 2018, 03:03:33 am »

Quote from: Alan_X on June 3, 2018, 10:10:58 am

Alexa is not a thermostat - it's an advanced voice recognition device with AI that interprets your commands once it hears a command word. If you buy a system that is specifically designed to eavesdrop on you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then you shouldn't get upset if it occasionally mis-hears what you say.

I don't have an Alexa and won't have one. I don't use Siri either because they are imperfect and obviously prone to mistakes.

"...I bought a complex device that is complicated way beyond my own expertise and comprehension and I have zero understanding of what is really going on the background to make it work, who or what it communicates with and is governed by terms and conditions that I have never bothered to actually read... ...but hey... it's someone else's problem when it makes a mistake..."

I have the same viewpoint, but from a totally different perspective, but yes... with the same resolution.

Phones, if true, are a no go, they're the new bible with Facebook as King James. They are meant to be personal and whilst the religious aliteration may be a step too far, they are most definitely our new diaries. We open them to the public when we choose to, but that doesn't mean that all this privacy bullshit is going to be resolved.

The whole focus going to continually transform and bleed into the public realm until it becomes old hat. The same thing happened with cookies, and yes, a totally different discussion altogether.

But I have no sympathy at all for Alexa users who bought into this. As has been said, if these things truly do mishear its hotword/name, then it is just beggars belief that anyone would firstly buy one in the first place, continue to use it after the novelty wore off, and continue to use it after some of the reports surfacing.

There's a moral and ethical responsibility on behalf of the manufacturers to stop this happening - perhaps it will in later updates get better and learn people's voices better... my girlfriend has one and I tried a few "X's" here and there and it woke to about 20% of the things I was trying. I can't remember the hotwords, but a muttered axe set it off.

redgriffin73 · « **Reply #551 on:** June 29, 2018, 03:00:57 pm »

Haven't read all this thread through so this may be explained fairly simply but basically I have been researching something this week on my work PC and did a Google search and Google Image search and discussed it in the office/on the phone (not my mobile). Today I have had a recommendation on my Instagram to follow a page on the same subject, which I have definitely never searched for on my phone or any of my phone apps.

So, is Google storing the info on my work PC and then linking to my Insta account (which I do sometimes check on the work PC)? Instagram is owned by FB isn't it, which I also have open on the work PC all day but haven't had the same recommendation on. I have also never searched this subject on my FB or Insta.

I assume this is it but it slightly unnerved me when I got the recommendation on my phone last night!

CraigDS · « **Reply #552 on:** June 29, 2018, 03:05:13 pm »

I imagine there is probably some agreement between Google and FB/Instagram for ad placements. Google/FB will have linked your various accounts through where you have logged in, devices, etc.

redgriffin73 · « **Reply #553 on:** June 29, 2018, 08:55:06 pm »

Quote from: CraigDS on June 29, 2018, 03:05:13 pm

I imagine there is probably some agreement between Google and FB/Instagram for ad placements. Google/FB will have linked your various accounts through where you have logged in, devices, etc.

Right ok, so even if I'm on a work Google account it would link to a private Google/fb account due to both having been used on the same PC? Makes sense I guess, thanks!

jason67 · « **Reply #554 on:** June 29, 2018, 09:50:04 pm »

Quote from: CraigDS on May 25, 2018, 10:00:28 am

Amazon's response....

"Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like "Alexa." Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a "send message" request. At which point, Alexa said out loud "To whom?" At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact list. Alexa then asked out loud, "[contact name], right?" Alexa then interpreted background conversation as "right". As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."

Sounds like a response from Vicky Polland...

You and Alan got your caps ready for when the real truth comes out and it all wasn't just an amazing, on off, incredible coincidence??

Tick Tock Guys, time to save face.....

Something Worse · « **Reply #555 on:** June 30, 2018, 12:54:27 am »

This probably isn't news to anyone but I had an interview for a tech job and they knew via google that I'd been on their website watching their videos and researching the role.

CraigDS · « **Reply #556 on:** June 30, 2018, 08:43:57 am »

Quote from: Claus on June 30, 2018, 12:54:27 am

This probably isn't news to anyone but I had an interview for a tech job and they knew via google that I'd been on their website watching their videos and researching the role.

You'd have had to visit their site via some link they'd sent you, or a page specifically for you, so they could capture your IP address. Then they could track your activity on their website easily.

However if you just search google and went to their site then they've probably made a lucky guess to try to seem clever.

Something Worse · « **Reply #557 on:** June 30, 2018, 04:37:19 pm »

Quote from: CraigDS on June 30, 2018, 08:43:57 am

You'd have had to visit their site via some link they'd sent you, or a page specifically for you, so they could capture your IP address. Then they could track your activity on their website easily.

However if you just search google and went to their site then they've probably made a lucky guess to try to seem clever.

Yeah they knew I had an interview and saw someone local all over their website half an hour before, I guess. Still pretty wild that Google has it all.

CraigDS · « **Reply #558 on:** June 30, 2018, 05:28:35 pm »

Quote from: Claus on June 30, 2018, 04:37:19 pm

Yeah they knew I had an interview and saw someone local all over their website half an hour before, I guess. Still pretty wild that Google has it all.

You can watch people on your website via Google Analytics. They do a live view window where you can literally watch as they click through from page to page.

That's partly how their remarketing works, so if you viewed wood decking on B&Qs website they can then chase you round the internet showing you adverts for the stuff.

CraigDS · « **Reply #559 on:** July 4, 2018, 07:39:38 am »

https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/03/research-facebook-probably-isnt-listening-phone/

Some people still believe that their phones are listening in to gather data that will inform targeted advertising or compromise their privacy. Facebook has directly denied that its apps are listening in Congressional hearings, but there hasn't been a rigorous scientific study of the issue. Academics at Northeastern University, however, have finally done just that (though only on Android devices).

As reported by Gizmodo, researchers Elleen Pan, Jingjing Ren, Martina Lindorfer, Christo Wilson, and David Choffnes studied more than 17,000 apps, including ones from Facebook and those that send information to Facebook, to see if any of them were capturing audio via Android phone microphones. As you might have guessed, the researchers found no evidence of apps activating the microphone or sending audio on the sly.

They did, however, discover something disturbing: some apps were sending phone screen recordings out to third parties. In one case, they found that GoPuff, a junk food delivery app, was sending screen shots and video recordings of user screens to analytics company, AppSee. That might make sense in our highly connected world, but this behavior was not disclosed in GoPuff's privacy policy (the company has since added a line to cover the usage).