Confirmed: Your phone really DOES spy on you!

[Gordman]

So this is my personal experience, but im completely convinced now that our smartphones literally DO listen to us even when we aren't using them.


Several months ago, my ex was talking to me on the phone about a specific gift for my son. He was wanting a good headset that wouldn't break(earphones with a mic) for playing games on Xbox with his friends. He went through a few beforehand that were pretty cheaply made and didn't last, so we decided to get him a new set that would hopefully do the job. I let my ex figure everything out since she was researching already. She settled on a specific model of the Sennheiser brand. At NO TIME did i ever Google search, Amazon search or ANYTHING on any of my devices or accounts. Literally no info was punched in on my end. All of our devices and accounts are COMPLETELY separate. Frankly Id never even heard of Sennheiser until she brought it up in a conversation. So Christmas comes and goes. Shortly afterward specific ads start showing up...on Reddit and a few other sites as well. I didn't really think anything of it at first, but one day it dawned on me that...shit...how the fuck does this stuff all of the sudden show up? I mean, these ads were pretty specific and before this I had of course never even seen and at at all for Sennheiser, ever.. I basically put it in the back of my mind but summed up that somehow they got our info.


Fast forward to a week ago. Im driving in my vehicle with my son. We are talking about different things and I don't know how I brought it up - I think I might have been talking to him about internet/privacy etc. He's 10 years old and a pretty smart guy who absorbs info like a sponge, so I will at times teach him what I can. I told him about this viral story where this guy apparently did an experiment with his wife who was in the room with him and started talking about cat food with his phone right next to him...even though they dont own a cat and have never even done any internet activity about cats. He apparently starts getting ads a few days later about cat food.

So, I explain all of this to my son, not even thinking about my own environment. Consider now, Ive never searched ANYTHING about cats or cat food or cat anything on my devices or accounts. I don't own any cats nor google search etc about them.

I shit you not, a few days ago these ads start popping up:
















these ads are from a reddit mobile app (ive been on reddit for at least a couple of years and i can guarantee you ive NEVER seen an ad about fucking cats much less fucking cat food choices). Just about every Reddit ad on my mobile device now is this ad about fucking cat food. I haven't seen yet if it has popped up anywhere else on my browsing, but I won't be surprised when it does.

Good grief


1984 anyone?

[sonatine]

[duped_samaritan]

snip

I feel like it would be pretty easy to prove that this kind of thing is happening, if it's really happening.

If you're really convinced they're listening, I suggest having a bunch of conversations as if you were about to have your first child and/or about to get married. These seem like two of the most basic/profitable target advertisements in the industry. If they actually start sending you baby/wedding ads - contact a lawyer or imagine how mulva or sparten would handle it and do the opposite.

I notice you have the new lil Dicky video up on you're feed - If you haven't watched this yet, do it now:

[thesidedish]

snip

I feel like it would be pretty easy to prove that this kind of thing is happening, if it's really happening.

If you're really convinced they're listening, I suggest having a bunch of conversations as if you were about to have your first child and/or about to get married. These seem like two of the most basic/profitable target advertisements in the industry. If they actually start sending you baby/wedding ads - contact a lawyer or imagine how mulva or sparten would handle it and do the opposite.

I notice you have the new lil Dicky video up on you're feed - If you haven't watched this yet, do it now:

"YO U GOTTA SEE THIS PROFOUND LIL DICKY VIDEO ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE" said the same ppl who said "OMG YES THE CARDI B RANT ABOUT 45!!" kill urself

[Sanlmar]

The relentless drive for data.

Facebook pays a whopping $19b for WhatsApp. Made absolutely no sense. Not that number. I get the messaging story. That wasn’t it entirely.

Five years later I heard a reason that was palm to forehead. It was the 450 million phone numbers in 2014.

You know what’s the best funnel for data? The physical device. The phone itself.

Tell me about your Google Android phone Gordo. Money tight?

It’s all truly unbelievable - and no one cares.... yet.

[thesidedish]

no shit. cover ur camera up, im sure they got programs that can read ur face and decide if ur in a good mood or not and figure you're more likely to buy today

[MumblesBadly]

no shit. cover ur camera up, im sure they got programs that can read ur face and decide if ur in a good mood or not and figure you're more likely to buy today

I’m kinda hoping that some sick fuck out there is collecting video from my phone’s faceward-looking camera for when I’m porn bingeing on it, then putting quick-cut edits of the footage to some kick-ass music. Let me suggest a song in particular in case of any of those sick fucks are reading this.

[Dan Druff]

You can't believe any "viral stories" which happened without proof. (Screen shots of cat food ads are not proof.)

Regarding your Sennheiser situation, there are various plausible explanations which don't involve your phone surreptitiously listening to you.

1) She is using some device you once used (before the divorce), and therefore it's associated with you.

2) She has shared (or even perhaps had stolen) her e-mail contacts, and it associated the last name, so any ad she sees, you might see.

There's other shit like this which, while creepy, is more about data misuse/harvesting/theft than any actual spying.