Big brother is listening

Nobody is "listening" to you via your phone. Hoonestly! Disabling your speaker or microphone is pointless.

It's all in data gathering and algorithm tracking.

And I've never had any of those creepy, intrusive robots like Alexa, etc.

I have a mobile and a laptop and Percy Kitten 1.1 and Buddy Puppy, both robotic from RoboPets, but that's it; I have no other ''connected/smart'' stuff.

My phone calendar reminded me of my son's wedding anniversary and Amazon suddenly started recommending wedding presents - 16 years too late!!

TheWeirdoAgain60

And I've never had any of those creepy, intrusive robots like Alexa, etc.

I have a mobile and a laptop and Percy Kitten 1.1 and Buddy Puppy, both robotic from RoboPets, but that's it; I have no other ''connected/smart'' stuff.

And where is Percy Kitten made: China 😉:
For all you know Percy is listening to you.

I like my Alexa. Most days she is the only company I have.
And if she's listening to me she must be very bored.

BlueBelle and all,
they have been listening to us for years. It is not coincidence…

Alexa, your laptop and phone all listen in to your conversation or monitor sites you visit. The algorithm then targets adverts to your device. I've known this for years and son confirmed it. He works as a chip programmer manager
Also Alexa sometimes has a real person listen in to 'check quality control ie clarity etc'
This was admitted in the media a few years ago.
It's no coincidence that if you're sat discussing shoes you will get adverts for footwear within 24 hours. HTH clarify it for people who didn't know.

Alexa is certainly listening all the time. She has to, so that if you say "Alexa do this", she can do it at once. She couldn't act on your instructions if she wasn't listening out for them. That doesn't necessarily mean that every word you say is being forwarded to inscrutable spies in Beijing, but it isn't surprising that if Alexa is sitting in your kitchen listening you will get an ad for anything you sound interested in. You can't have her answering your every wish without getting everything you mention, too.

It would be good idea to dig deep into your laptop every month or so and delete cookies. Dont ask me how! somewhere in 'settings' and maybe another level of 'more settings'.

Greyfur16

I have had some obscure, meandering thoughts and the subject matter has appeared on my phone.

Exactly this !! There's just no logical explaination. Frightening.

I swear that the Internet can read my mind. It is truly spooky.

Nowadays we are so "watched" in everything we do there's not much we can do about it. Everything is listening in, you are not safe so no point getting worried about it 'cos there's nowt you can do (......be a hermit perhaps?) The only thing to do is check, check, check everything like bank accounts, etc. and take action immediately if anything is compromised. Even "strong" passwords are not safe any more.

Oh, and delete all cookies daily. You can set it to automatically do it through your settings.

ClicketyClick

Greyfur16

I have had some obscure, meandering thoughts and the subject matter has appeared on my phone.

Exactly this !! There's just no logical explaination. Frightening.

I know ( silly example) if I show an interest in Art Galleries, various devices are going to churn out information on this/ courses/ suggestions.

Also if I think about Art Galleries and also type about them, the same.
But some of the thoughts are so obscure how can "it" know.

ClicketyClick

Greyfur16

I have had some obscure, meandering thoughts and the subject matter has appeared on my phone.

Exactly this !! There's just no logical explaination. Frightening.

You’re not alone.
I had a sewing problem some while back. I didn’t speak to anyone or search any sites.
I look at FB reels as there is some very good/ different sewing tips. You’ve guessed it, there was my problem.

When I bought my new monitor///Huawei my daughter told me the Chinese would be listening in,,

petra

ClicketyClick

Greyfur16

I have had some obscure, meandering thoughts and the subject matter has appeared on my phone.

Exactly this !! There's just no logical explaination. Frightening.

You’re not alone.
I had a sewing problem some while back. I didn’t speak to anyone or search any sites.
I look at FB reels as there is some very good/ different sewing tips. You’ve guessed it, there was my problem.

Eek spooky.

Yes it's scarey -
but I read quite a lot & all the time (particularly recently) I read of something I had never known and then the very next book I pick up, there's a reference to that exact same fact / story.

I'm not reading the same sort of books, I tend to get maybe a mystery, a biography and a factual (travel or history). But this happens. I'm sure it's something to do with me processing what I'm reading but it's inntriguing (& not Big Brother).

Change your browser to something like DuckDuckGo and google can’t track you. Visit Which for other way to keep you information safe and stop the trackers.

I too reject cookies, and if it’s not possible, won’t use the site unless I absolutely have to. Similarly with apps. They are very often far more useful to businesses than they are to us. The information they get about us surprised me.

It’s not new and it’s all data gathering and algorithms. Everywhere you go , data is gathered , at the supermarket, petrol station , public transport, unless you use cash , which you can’t on public transport now.
I do think with some things , such as buying a particular car , you’re more aware of that brand or that model of car and then you see them everywhere.

valdali

Yes it's scarey -
but I read quite a lot & all the time (particularly recently) I read of something I had never known and then the very next book I pick up, there's a reference to that exact same fact / story.

I'm not reading the same sort of books, I tend to get maybe a mystery, a biography and a factual (travel or history). But this happens. I'm sure it's something to do with me processing what I'm reading but it's inntriguing (& not Big Brother).

With me it's words. I tend to read on Kindle and look up unfamiliar words and then keep coming across them. eg. psychopomp ; petrichor ; liminal ; deodand - both in other books, of either fiction or fact, or on TV or radio.

HelterSkelter1

Its probably your fridge listening to you.

Loved this. My fridge makes such odd noises and hums a lot. I was thinking of teaching it how to talk.

Or maybe l should just wait for the next generation of Smart Fridges
That clean themselves and reorder food when you are getting low.

It’s neither “scary” nor conspiracy. It’s just reality. The terms and conditions give a wide variety of permissions when we click “I agree”. Often, access to our microphone is a common permission we give tech companies. I find Facebook to be amongst the worst of the data vampires.

We want to use “free” services and act shocked that we pay with our privacy. It’s silly to be surprised. Tech Billionaires aren’t providing us services out of the kindness of their hearts. Social media is a means to your lucrative data. Buying and selling data so that eventually ads can be targeted to those to whom they most likely will be successful is how the tech economy works. It’s just how it is. Even Gransnet makes money off of your data. The algorithm is helped by our online activity, but the data we agree to share is where the profit is.

It’s 100% our own choice to give big tech the level of access to us that they have.

The answers to anyone’s questions about the permissions we give are buried in the thousands and thousands of words in the terms and conditions.