How companies serve us ads about something we just talked about

Are Your Conversations Eavesdropped Upon For Ads?

Have you ever had that experience where you met with a friend or family member, and talked about a topic only to find out that you get ads about that the next day?

In this article, I’m going to explain how this is possible. Are companies listening via our devices? Or is there something simpler and cheaper that explains how we are being served ads?

This post is inspired by Robert G. Greeves’ Tweet on the subject.

Eavesdropping IS possible

First of all, let me start by stating that it technically IS possible for instances to be listening to your mobile- and other electronic devices.

Besides commercial initiatives like the Samsung TV’s that listen to what you say, and smart speakers (like Google Nest Mini) that buffer and analyze your spoken words to find out if you are giving them instructions, there are government initiatives.

Information like the government documents leaked by Edward Snowden show how government agencies like the NSA are working (and probably already are using) on ways to spy on your phone’s data, audio and video.