Are they really listening to you?

Happy Monday, folks! I’ve read a lot about a fun conversation friends like to have over brunch.. how could they possibly know that unless they’re listening!? Today’s post is a bit longer at 981 words and about 5 minutes read in total, but just focus on the devices you own and skip the rest!

What am I suggesting and why?

Block microphone access to apps on your phone that don’t need it, and turn off the mic on Alexa and Google Home for added privacy.

There’s some debate about whether or not your devices are listening to you. Some say the cost of such a system would be astronomical and therefore impossible, others say all signs point to they’ve found a way. Why not just give yourself a little privacy just in case?

You in? Let’s go!

First, let’s check which apps have access to your microphone and turn off any that don’t need it. You should consider turning off mic access for any app that you don’t need to talk into (I generally keep access on for apps that I use to make calls).

Android Microphone Access

1. Go to Settings > Privacy.
2. To block the microphone entirely, turn off the switch for Microphone Access.
3. To Block the microphone from specific apps, open Permission Manager > Microphone.
4. Select any app that you want to block microphone access on (e.g. Google).
5. Select how you would like the microphone to be used (options are generally Always allow, Allow only while using the app, Ask every time, and Don’t allow).

For the limited apps that I do allow mic access, I go with either Allow only while using the app (so it can’t listen while you’re not using it) or Ask every time (if I only need it to listen when I’m planning to use the mic). Turn off access for any app that you don’t need the microphone for.

If you use Google Assistant (e.g. ‘Hey Google’)

1. Go to Settings and search “Assistant Settings” (I honestly can’t figure out where in the menu it is, so search is the fastest way to find it).
2. Under Popular Settings, choose Hey Google & Voice Match.
3. Next to Hey Google, turn the switch off to prevent Google from listening all the time.

iPhone Microphone Access

1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone.
2. Tap any ‘on’ switches (they’ll be green) to the ‘off’ position (they’ll be gray) for any apps you don’t want to have microphone access.

There’s no full microphone kill switch on iPhone (can’t turn the mic off entirely like you can on Android), but it’s pretty easy to remove access from apps at least.

If you use ‘Hey Siri’

1. Go to Settings > Siri & Search.
2. Turn off the switch next to Listen for Hey Siri to prevent Apple from listening all the time.

Smart Speakers Microphone Access

Here’s how to block the microphone on Google Nest Hub, Alexa, and Apple HomePod.

Google Nest Hubs (formerly Google Home)

Google Nest Hubs have a convenient physical microphone on/off switch on the device. Look on the back or the bottom for a switch, and whenever you want your privacy, flip the switch to off to prevent the service from listening.

Alexa

Alexa has a convenient physical button on the top of the device to turn the microphone off, it looks like a microphone with a line through it. If you press that button, the lights should turn red and she who shall not be named* may be named once more.

*I have to give credit to a friend with a house full of Alexas that affectionately refers to her as “she who must not be named,” and it just seemed so incredibly appropriate that I refuse to call her anything else.

Apple HomePod

Unfortunately, there’s no easy button for the HomePod, you have to open the Apple Home app on iPhone or iPad and disable the mic, or you can say “Hey Siri, stop listening” and the mic will turn off as well. Don’t ask me how to turn it back on though, I guess also in the app? The whole thing is weird.

Deleting Previous Recordings

If you didn’t already know, all of these services actually store your many inquiries for the weather and how many pints are in a gallon as recordings in your account. I’m not going to list all the ways to delete them though, because Gear Patrol actually wrote a great article about smart speaker mics and has great instructions for deleting old recordings. Before you delete them though, do listen to a few and have a good laugh/cringe.

Dig Deeper

So the debate on whether your phone is listening to you rages on even today, but anecdotally, sure, we’ve all had an experience where we ask ourselves, “How could they possibly know that??” The ‘they’ in this case being the tech powers that be, but they also claim that they don’t.

Who’s to say what the truth is? But it’s been debated quite a bit, and I’ll link some articles below so you can see for yourself. And just an FYI, Mark Zuckerberg tapes over his laptop’s camera and mic, so you be the judge.

The Debate Rages On:

• “Google Is Absolutely Listening to Your Conversations, and It Confirms Why People Don't Trust Big Tech” Read on Inc.
• “Your Phone Is Secretly Always Recording: How to Stop Google From Listening” Read on MakeUseOf
• “Does Your Phone Listen to You for Ads? Or Is It Just Coincidence?” Read on MakeUseOf
• “Does Facebook listen to you? Here's what you need to know” Read on Business Insider
• “Is Facebook listening to me? Why those ads appear after you talk about things” Read on USA Today
• “Facebook isn’t secretly listening to your conversations, but the truth is much more disturbing” Read on New Atlas
• “Is Alexa Really Always Listening?” Read on Reader’s Digest
• “Amazon reportedly employs thousands of people to listen to your Alexa conversations” Read on CNN