So you have been talking to your friend about how you need a new potato masher because you broke the old one. It wasn’t the most interesting conversation you had during that lunch, of course, so you quickly forgot about it. Until later that evening, when you saw several ads for potato mashers in your feed. You are confused at first. After all, you haven’t even been shopping for it yet. It was only in your plans, but then you recall. You have mentioned it at loud with your phone lying next to you on the table. So now you have plenty of propositions of potato mashers online. Is it a coincidence? We doubt that.
Have you ever been to a similar situation? Perhaps, you were discussing some speedy paper reviews or certain online shops when they have suddenly appeared in your feed. The odds are that you have probably had such an experience more than once in your life. We have all heard about our phones eavesdropping on us before but never really understood its scale fully. Perhaps, we simply didn’t pay enough attention. However, these are the times when we simply can’t ignore it any longer.
Our smartphones are not just eavesdropping on us. They also use any information they have collected on us to create a better profile of their users. This is how they can come up with the most effective ads, for example. By catching the keywords from our conversation, they can generate the most accurate consumer profile used to pitch us various products.
Of course, these facts are often debated online, with people from major tech companies claiming such rumors are completely false. Well, false or not, if you need to feel yourself safer and better around your phone, you should go for it. Overall, there are certain things you can stop your devices from eavesdropping on you. Here are five tips on how to stop eavesdropping.
Smartphones Are Eavesdropping on Us: 5 Tips to Stop It
1. Close access to the microphone
Covering up your mic seems like the most obvious and easiest option of all in the given situation. Now, obviously, you will need access to your microphone on the phone eventually. However, most of the time, you don’t really need it, so having something over the mic wouldn’t hurt anyone. It will block most of the sounds, and you may feel free to speak about anything you’d like without activating any search engines.
The most simple way to do it is to put some tape over it. Make sure the tape won’t leave any sticky marks once you pull it away, as you will have to do it frequently. You may forget to pull it away for the first few times someone calls you, but you’ll get used to it eventually.
2. Limit access to your microphone
Another option you have is to limit access to your mic. In general, most applications always ask for your permission to use the mic or camera on your phone. So, in case the use of a mic is not necessary for a particular app, you can always turn it off. Be sure to check most of your social media apps for the use of mics as well. In most cases, you don’t even need a mic for the work of those apps, though they still use it anyway. So if you don’t post stories on a regular basis, you can change the setting in Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube, to limit their access to the mic.
3. Install good security software
In general, you do need good security software on your phone anyway. Though, you can get an application that also strives to limit unauthorized access to your mic by other applications. Good security software can also protect you from being hacked, so install one if you haven’t already.
4. Disable voice assistant
Voice assistance is not very convenient, to begin with. They often make mistakes or unrequested actions. In case you don’t use them that much anyway, it’s better to disable them once and for all. For the very least, by doing so, you’ll avoid any accidents in the future. Thus, you won’t accidentally leave a bad 5staressays review when discussing your online order with a friend or won’t call someone you had no intention to contact.
5. Switch to regular phones
Surely, in this modern age of advanced technologies, a life without a smartphone can be basically impossible. However, that is not true. In case you worry too much about the technologies taking control over your life, you can try spending more time without them. After all, the best way to be sure your smartphone is not eavesdropping on you is not to have one at all.
