Mastodawn

How much proof is there that smart tvs and phones listen to you?

https://sh.itjust.works/post/57082890

How much proof is there that smart tvs and phones listen to you? - sh.itjust.works

Like, we all know they’re listening , but can we provide proof? My friend was complaining about all the new super surveillance that will be government required in cars after 2027, and I said to him dude you have a stock android, you use every AI slop feature, you use a smart TV on your unsecured network, and uses x every day. They have everything they could possibly need on him. Oh and he posts questionable things to fb daily under his real name.

It’s still never been proven despite countless very smart people looking for this exact behaviour for well over a decade now. The first person to actually prove this whole mass spying via microphone to sell ads thing is actually happening, would be world-famous overnight.

For instance on an android phone, it’s not really possible for an app to do something that a determined enough security researcher couldn’t ultimately detect if they were looking for it. When you can build your own version of the operating system and decompile the application easily, there’s not really any other places to hide that won’t give something away.

If you feel like your phone is acting off of a conversation you had without interacting with it, it’s nearly always one of these three:

The vast majority of people are super predictable most of the time.
You are not accounting for other people in the conversation, who may well have just googled the thing. These companies know who you spend time with, they don’t need a microphone for that.
Baader meinhof phenomenon

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thought surely something fishy was going on plenty of times, but the reality is, until someone can actually prove it (which is entirely possible to do if it’s happening), it’s gotta just be the above. We’re being tracked a crazy amount, but it’s not passively by microphones in our pockets

Note: none of this applies if you’re actually being specifically individually targeted (i.e. by a hostile government). All bets are off in that instance

Pommes_für_dein_Balg Mar 20

The manufacturers tell you.

And they even make you click the “I have read and understood this” button under the document that explicitly states that they’re spying on you and selling all your data.

Lars_Tanner Mar 20

Mark Zuckerberg puts a sticker over his laptop camera and microphone.

FineCoatMummy Mar 20

He also gave his famous opinion about Facebook users. Deep down, he agrees with privacy advocates. The diff is that he’s a shitty enough person to take advantage of the less techy people out there even if his society will be damaged badly in the process. Most of us are not that shitty.

they trust me

dumb fucks

I think we can move beyond Facebook here. Trusting big tech with your data never works out well.

BarneyPiccolo Mar 21

That’s called being a Sociopathic Oligarch

ScoffingLizard Mar 20

When I talk to somebody who has Facebook on their phone, an ad for that thing pops up in their feed. It’s been obvious for years.

ScoffingLizard Mar 20

Wait. Government required in cars?

bridgeenjoyer Mar 20

Yep 2027 head and eye tracking with llms that dictate if you’re tired.

mulcahey Mar 20

Link?

bridgeenjoyer Mar 20

One of many,

gadgetreview.com/federal-surveillance-tech-become…

“The tech involves infrared cameras mounted on steering columns or A-pillars, tracking eye movement, pupil dilation, and drowsiness patterns. Unlike the breathalyzer ignition interlocks from DUI convictions, these systems operate passively—no blowing required. Your car simply watches and decides whether you’re fit to drive.

If the AI determines you’re impaired (blood alcohol ≥0.08% or showing fatigue), it can prevent ignition startup or limit vehicle speed. Think Minority Report, but for your morning commute.”

Not that new cars aren’t already tracked every moment and government controlled, they are. This is just a worse version of it.

Federal Surveillance Tech Becomes Mandatory in New Cars by 2027

New car surveillance tech becomes mandatory by 2027, using infrared cameras to monitor driver sobriety and alertness with privacy and cost concerns.

Gadget Review

ScoffingLizard Mar 22

No college student can ever drive again?

ScoffingLizard Mar 22

That’s fucking hilarious. I am tired if I’m breathing. Guess I’m getting a disability check soon.

Arthur Besse Mar 21

Regarding TVs, WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 publication in 2017 included “Weeping Angel”, CIA malware for Samsung TVs which streams audio from them while they’re in “fake off” mode.

mashable.com/…/cia-samsung-tv-hack-weeping-angel

Vault 7 - Wikipedia

BarneyPiccolo Mar 21

I saw proof one day. I was visiting a welding shop on business, never been there before, didn’t know them. At some point, I’m sitting in the office with about five guys, distracting them from their work, yakking, and I mention a big piece of gear I have to haul around using a cart. One suggests a different kind of cart, and describes it. As we’re talking, one of the other guys gasps, and holds his phone up to show the boss.

While we were talking, this guy opened his phone, and the first ad that popped up was for that odd, obscure equipment cart that we had just been talking about.

It turned out that these guys had been discussing this subject earlier, and now it was confirmed for all of us.

MIDItheKID Mar 21

The one that did it for me - I was in the car with my wife and a friend. We were driving down the highway and talking about the clouds we saw. And I said “I wander what kind of clouds those are. Like cumulus? Alto?”

The I take out my phone and type “types of” and the first auto-fill option that came up was “types of cloud” and I was like “there’s no fucking way that just happens to be the highest suggested search prompt”

BarneyPiccolo Mar 21

It won’t be long before we’ll be getting into sexy time with the spouse, and the phone on the nightstand dings with a notification. You pause to check it, and it’s an ad for a new sex lube!