Your Phone’s Secret Life: What We Uncovered About 5 Viral Surveillance Myths
Have you ever had the sneaking suspicion that your phone knows just a bit too much about you? Like, you talk about going on a juice cleanse for the first time in your life, and suddenly every ad across your apps is for organic celery and motivational water bottles… Coincidence? Or is your smartphone quietly eavesdropping between sips of its own battery juice? It’s sort of like living in a sitcom—except the punchline is your privacy, and “sharing is caring” takes on a rather ominous twist when data brokers get involved.
Since it seems like everyone and their mother has a fitness mirror tracking their squats and a pillow plotting their dreams these days, it’s no wonder we’re raising our eyebrows at just how much Big Tech knows—or, at least, claims not to know. The truth is, as our lives go digital, so does much of our personal information, and, let’s face it, that’s enough to make anyone clutch their phone a little tighter (or just throw a piece of tape over the camera if you’re feeling dramatic).
With 9 out of 10 Americans owning a smartphone, you’d think we’d be digital ninjas by now, but apparently, most people think they have about as much control over their data as a cat has over a cucumber. So, are your devices the ultimate listening posts—or is the real menace hiding in fine print, incognito browsers, and data brokers who know your midnight snack habits better than your own mother?
Well, don’t panic just yet. I’ve fact-checked five of the wildest techno-surveillance myths swirling out there, breaking down what’s true, what’s fiction, and what you should honestly be worried about. (Spoiler: Sometimes the scariest part is how little we know about what’s actually going on behind our screens…) Ready to have your mind blown—or at least mildly unsettled? LEARN MORE
Is your phone actually listening to you? We fact-checked 5 surveillance myths.
Mirrors that track workout reps, pillows that silence snores—smart technology is constantly evolving. Our phones are some of the smartest and most ubiquitous. By 2024, 9 in 10 Americans owned a smartphone, up from just 35% in 2011, according to Pew Research Center.
While these innovations offer convenience, they often come with a hidden cost: privacy.
The Federal Trade Commission warns that companies can now track online activities whenever users interact with internet-connected devices. Websites may use cookies to track someone even after they leave the site. Some apps allow advertisers to use a unique identifier to track a person’s activity, and companies may be able to track activity on different devices, including phones and laptops, as long as they’re connected to the internet. Online sources can amass details on everything from purchase history and social media activity to magazine subscriptions and even political affiliations.
Data brokers collect this information from online sources, sometimes without a user’s knowledge. The FTC reports that this info can include purchase history, social media activity, magazine subscriptions, and even political affiliations. User profiles are then sold to businesses that target potential customers with eerily specific ads.
Experian, one of the largest data brokers in the United States, uses data about hundreds of millions of people’s locations, demographics, purchasing habits, lifestyles, and interests to help marketers “gain granular insights into who your customers really are.”
So it’s no wonder some people believe their phones are “listening” to them—even if that’s not exactly the case.
“When most people see unexpected ads, it’s because they’ve been targeted based on huge lists of private information about them that was collected in other covert ways,” an Electronic Frontier Foundation report found.
This practice has left many Americans uneasy. A 2023 Pew survey revealed that nearly 3 in 4 respondents felt they had “little to no control” over how companies use their data, and 67% said they “understand little to nothing” about how their personal information is handled.
To address these concerns, Stacker investigated five common fears about tech surveillance and separated fact from fiction.
Are my smart devices always listening to me?
Smart devices are not constantly listening to you, but there have been cases in which audio recordings have been filtered through human listeners.
In 2018, CBS conducted an investigation and found no evidence that smartphones eavesdrop on conversations. Later that year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified during a Senate hearing that the company was not actively listening to users.
However, virtual assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa have recorded audio while activated, which humans later reviewed—though Google, Apple, and other companies reportedly stopped this practice in 2019.
Are people spying on me through my cameras?
Generally, people should be able to tell if their cameras or microphones are in use.
