Are we being listened to on the phone

Sorry if the description is vaque.

Yesterday i was talking to a friend on the phone. Mine is a new Samsung galaxy S21 ultra. His is a S20 note.

So he was asking about recording old video tapes to the computer. He has lots of them from the days of old that he would like to put onto the P.C. The conversation lasted around half an hour.

Last night i went onto youtube. The front page shows things you may be interested in due to what you have watched previously. So half of the video's shown were how to record old video tapes onto the P.C. So just from a phone conversation that happened, which is slightly eerie.

Is it the Samsung phone. Is it Android, ????. Whatever i would say it is a bit naughty.

Steve.

Could have been FBI, GCHQ, Russians or Chinese spies or local police. More likely, scammers/hackers trying to pick up more info b4 raiding your bank a/c. Take very great care over your security. Change passwords frequently to break bad effects of organisations leaks, all too common.

Being doing a bit of digging. Google own the android system & it would seem doing all sorts of things to supposedly give you a better user experience.

I just wonder if our conversation was something private. ???

Steve.

There is no privacy on phones or internet either wireless or land network. NSA in the states, and several other agencies, are listening with AI for keywords about crime and terrorism, and have been for years now. 99.5% of the population have absolutely nothing to fear from this, although feelings about privacy may be hurt in the sensitive. Go have some fun in the workshop and stop worrying.

Oh, and good morning to Fred and Bob at the NSA!

Are either of you using alexa, siri, or something similar?

Not me, I already get a barrage of marketing ads triggered by my internet browsing, don't need more. The alexa / siri devices are just data collection / marketing tools. The less I have to do with AI the better, but it is becoming unavoidable if you interact with companies or government at all. Just my opinion.

So you need to test it by chatting about lathes and machining, or cooking beetroot or whatever. Let us know the best beetroot recipes tomorrow.

Steve,

Have you had the covid vaccine yet? It could have been the tracker that they inject.

Phil H

It is a remarkable coincidence that I go down the pub and discuss random subjects that I have not googled or even thought about previously, when I get home I will have adverts about subject discussed in pub. I find it beyond chance that Siri was not involved. If it had just happened once then it could be just chance but now it has happened multiple times there seems to be a very smelly rat somewhere, probably called Siri, Alexa, Cortana etc.

Mike

Mrs B and I came to the conclusion that we were being "listend to" by mobile phones some time ago - too many occurences of being "served" adverts about things we had been talking about for these to be a random occurence.

The price you pay for using Google, Android phone etc.

Nigel B.

It is an established fact that your mobile phone will listen to your conversations, I don’t mean those using the phone to communicate but any conversation that it can hear, we don’t switch our phones off when not making calls but the phone is still active and able to listen in to what is going on around it, just like Alexa does. Dave W

Afraid so folks, if you really are up to 'no good', best keep it to sending letters and even hope they are not being opened !

I've never experienced this problem as I don't own a smart phone and never intend to own one, but if you have any social media accounts, Steve, [e.g. Facebook, Instagram] is there a "use my microphone" option on these accounts you can turn off? This may help.

Then again...

Funny you should ask that. Yes i had it a while ago. You got me thinking now. My left eye keeps changing colour so you are probably right. P.S yes there is a Alexa in the front room.

Steve.

Samasaranda -

Is that really "established fact" that your 'phone will go into an eavesdropping mode (like Alexa) when you are not making a call?

Alexa yes, but a portable 'phone? I doubt that! It would need to be on transmit mode all the time, or perhaps at frequent intervals. Also, their microphones are not ever so sensitive although judging by the antics of some users you see (and hear) out and about, they must be fairly omnidirectional.

It may depend on the model of course. I won't have a "smart" phone. I tried one for a few months then replaced it with a basic, PAYG, voice and text-by-button instrument rated at 3G (though I don't know what that really means). Allegedly you can link it to the WWW but I have not done so, as I think that needs an expensive contract, and be useless on such a physically small instrument.

Easy enough to stop a 'phone eavesdropping, if it actually is of course. If you don't want to turn it off, just place it microphone down on a soft surface.

Hi, I dare say it depends on what permissions you have your microphone set too. I only have mine set to a very few things and have not noticed any such bombardment about anything that I talk about, however one of my sisters told me a couple of years ago that she would get ads on her iPhone shortly after talking to someone about certain things.

Regards Nick.

Conspiracy theorists would argue that these items can be switched on remotely and since 'Echelon; has been admitted to one has to wonder what's the latest incarnation in surveillance.
It's probably worth seeding a few suitable phrases into any conversation/...polonium, when are we raiding the hospital caesium?, how do i refine castor oil? and the like.
If you really want to get the attention of authorities then try "I don't have a TV licence" or "I'm not paying my income tax"

pgk

PGK

Having seeded those phrase in an internet communication, should you be worried ? 😳

Dave W

Nigel Graham 2

Mobile phones are continually emitting signals as they lock onto mobile phone masts, how do you think that police and security services e.g. GCHQ are able to track the transgressors when they have their phones switched on and then lose them if they switch them off. Big Brother is always with you when you have a mobile phone switched on. Dave W

All phone conversations have the capability to be intercepted whether landline or mobile. 30 years ago I worked at a Sattelite earth station and such capability was built in to the infrastructure. Encrochat was recently disrupted implying mobile network surveillance is actively monitored, and a visit to RAF Cosford Air Museum Nimrod R3 will further provide evidence of decommissioned monitoring capability