Facebook and Google Partner Admits Listening Through Mobile Phone Microphone

This is no secret to anyone and is perhaps one of the most common myths about the use of cell phonesthat “Google is listening to you” or that “Facebook is listening to you” and that is why certain ads appear when you browse.

Eavesdropping by Google or another app relies on certain permissions that are enabled by default on the vast majority of phones with Android operating system.

But now the marketing company that worked as a partner Google And Facebook He admitted that he listened to the opinions of users.

A pitch deck from Cox Media Group (CMG), seen by 404 Media, claims the marketing company uses its AI-powered active listening software to collect real-time data by listening to phone users’ conversations. The slide adds that advertising clients can combine the collected voice data with behavioral data to target consumers in-market.

The filing notes that consumers “leave data trails based on their online conversations and behavior” and that Active Listening collects and analyzes behavioral and voice data from more than 470 sources.

CMG’s clients also included Facebook, Google and Amazon, although it was not specified whether they used the active listening tool.

A Google spokesperson told The New York Times that the company had already parted ways with the marketing company CMG.

“All advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, as well as our Google Ads policies, and when we identify ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we will take appropriate action.”

Meta, for its part, says it will investigate CMG to determine whether the agency violated any terms of service. “Meta does not use your phone’s microphone to serve ads, and we’ve been transparent about that for years,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We are reaching out to CMG to clarify that their program is not metadata-based.”

What protection does a marketing agency use?

The agency claims that phones and devices can listen in on users’ conversations. Cox says this is possible because consent for Active Listening is included in multi-page terms of service agreements that few people read and that come with new app downloads or updates.