Your Phone Isn’t Listening… It’s Just Cleverer Than You Think I read this interesting article the other day. You’ve probably had it happen, chat about something random like a BBQ, a holiday, or a new gadget… then boom, ads for...

[UK Sentinel]

I read this interesting article the other day.

You’ve probably had it happen, chat about something random like a BBQ, a holiday, or a new gadget… then boom, ads for it everywhere. Feels like your phone’s been spying on you.

But here’s the thing, it almost certainly isn’t.

What’s actually going on is a mix of tracking + clever prediction. Every time you browse, search, click, or even just go about your day with your phone in your pocket, you’re feeding data into the system. Add in things like your location, what your mates are into, and even being on the same Wi-Fi, and it all builds a pretty accurate picture of you.

And while companies like Google and Meta say they’re not using your mic for ads, the truth is—they don’t need to. The data they already have does the job just fine.

 

Want to tone it down a bit? Here’s what helps:

• Switch off location tracking for apps you don’t trust
• Turn off personalised ads in your settings
• Don’t just blindly accept cookies on every site
• Use a browser that blocks trackers
• Have a quick clear-out of app permissions now and then

You won’t go completely off-grid, but it’ll cut down the “how did it know that?!” moments.

 

https://www.mcnuttpartners.com/why-we-see-digital-ads-after-talking-about-something/

In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).

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