Is your smartphone spying on you? Check below...
If you've ever suspected that your phone is spying on you - you could be right.
According to the global virtual private network service provider, NordVPN, your smartphone could be listening to you to help marketers target you.
A recent study by NordVPN shows that there was a 5% increase in the installation of monitoring apps in 2020. Apparently, virtual assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa listen to their users all the time! The apps have to constantly listen so they can hear the voice command and assist their users, but some of the details are being recorded for the company's benefit.
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If you want to test your phone to see if it's spying on you, follow the instructions below.
- Talk about something you wouldn't normally talk about.
- Don't use your phone or a device you normally use to search for that particular piece of information.
- Discuss the topic next to your phone loudly so it can 'hear' you using specific keywords, do this for a few days. Do not search for the information on any device.
After this experiment, pay attention to the ads you receive on social media or any other online platform. If the ads are related to the topic you discussed, then your device is definitely spying on you.
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If you're worried about the legalities of this, check your settings for your Google Assistant or Alexa or even Siri, chances are that when you signed up for this service, you gave permission to the app to collect information for marketing purposes.
Check the app's permissions and amend your privacy settings.
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