How Do Ads Know Exactly What You Were Just Talking About?
App Eavesdropping, Streaming, Apple Hardware, AI Headlines, Travel Apps
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📝 Post: How Do Ads Know Exactly What You Were Just Talking About?
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😎 Pick of the Week: Travel Apps
📦 Featured Product: Govee Outdoor Lights
📝 How Do Ads Know Exactly What You Were Just Talking About?
People love to say “Instagram is listening to me,” but what’s actually going on is probably a bit scarier. Spoiler alert: the algorithm is that good.
Recently, the CEO of Instagram said, “We do not listen to you” in a video posted on Instagram. It received a lot of flak, partially because he even admitted his wife had asked him about it 2 or 3 times before. I really encourage you to watch it because I won’t cover everything he says, and I have no reason to disagree with anything he says. I hate to say it, but - trust the nerds. While he obviously has something to gain, I do not. Nor do I have any reason to side with him or any other social media CEO saying the same thing.
But what about the lawsuit about privacy where Apple Settles for $95 Million? If you read the true headline (which I changed on purpose), you’ll notice it said “Siri.” Because Siri -does- listen to you. It has to in order to be useful for the ways you ask it to. You can absolutely turn it off, but if you have “Hey Siri…” enabled (or the Google variant), it has to at least somewhat listen in order to jump at a moment’s notice. So maybe Siri shared information with the social media apps? Highly doubtful.
If there’s a company that takes privacy seriously over anyone else, Apple is up there. And if they did in fact share privacy data like that, they would have settled for way more than $95 million, or you and I would be part of a class action lawsuit where we’d potentially be able to receive more than the $20/device this lawsuit is looking at. They also still denied any wrongdoing, nor would those suing have any hard proof.
Which goes to the next point here. Any social media app violating your privacy by listening to your device’s microphone (at least while the app is closed) would be in a load of trouble and wouldn’t dare risk doing that. It would absolutely shut their company down if that were ever surfaced to be the case. Not to mention the amount of data your phone would eat up to transmit that much audio. Then, how much processing would have to happen on the backend - in real time? It’s not happening. It’s just too expensive on all fronts and too much of a privacy risk.
I think the biggest thing people overlook is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. What is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, you ask? Simply put, it explains how when you learn or notice something new, you start seeing or hearing it everywhere, even though it’s not actually happening any more often than the norm. The easiest way to prove this is to ask if you’ve ever purchased a car before. Because chances are, the very next day - when you are so excited to be driving your shiny new car - you’ll see tens of them on the road. So did a bunch of other people decide to go buy the same car as you yesterday? Of course not, you’re just noticing them more and more.
Further proven if you wanted to waste some time doom scrolling…. See how many total ads you’re served that are actually useful or interesting versus how many other random ads you see that you wouldn’t be interested in. If the apps were listening, why would they ever serve something that wouldn’t work when they can give you a ton of ads they know will work?
If you still swear any of the social media apps are listening to you, then there are only 1 of 2 things you should do moving forward.
One, get off the social media site in question. You are on it way too much, and you’re giving it way too much information. Don’t believe me, you can check your screen time, but even that may not matter. A study by Cornell shows that “rapid reinforcement typically occurs within the first 200 videos watched” on TikTok. That can literally happen in one evening. The algorithms are scary good, and they don’t need to listen to you to serve you an ad you need or want.
Two, fix your privacy settings on your phone and the web. You’re giving away too much information to your apps and letting them talk to each other. I talked about a few ways this can happen in Weekly Wheaties #2412 if you need to mitigate this issue. The quick fix is to go into the settings of the app and turn off location tracking, microphone access, access to your photos, and make sure you choose “Ask app not to track” anytime given the option. Chances are, you allow one or more of these, and allow the app to figure you out by talking to other apps or settings that help it out.
Remember. They’re not listening. They don’t need to. You told them everything they need to know already. Check your settings, check your screen time, and make sure to read pop-ups before randomly clicking yes or no.
🗞️ ICYMI: Streaming and Entertainment
The streaming wars are heating up yet again, but not in the way you may think. The most used streaming app on your TV, YouTube, is only just getting started with its plans for disruption. It’s not just Google by itself, either. Creators are helping push (or pull?) this wave. Banijay Creators Lab seeks creators to reinvent classic TV formats, like Minute To Win It and other popular French shows. However, Spotify & Netflix Teamed up to Gun for YouTube’s Eyeballs by moving 18 popular video podcasts to Netflix.
In other YouTube news, the most followed creator, Mr. Beast, is making the news for two new business ventures. Last week, he launched Vyro, A Video Platform Where Views Matter More Than Followers. Creators (yes, even you) can sign up at Vyro.com and get paid ~$2.00 per 1,000 views of clips created from other creators’ videos. You don’t have to make any videos; only have to edit someone else’s posted videos. Next, a trademark was filed for ‘MrBeast Financial’ to Offer Crypto, Banking Services.
🗞️ ICYMI: Apple’s New Hardware
Roughly a month after Apple’s September Event announcing new phones and watches, they then released 3 press releases for hardware utilizing the new M5 chipset. Check out the new MacBook Pro 14‑inch, the new iPad Pro, and an updated Vision Pro with a new comfortable band.
I can’t believe I only found this site, but MacRumors has a Buyer’s Guide showing when Apple hardware products are released, along with a suggestion of whether you should buy now or wait.
🗞️ ICYMI: AI Headlines
Google Gemini 3 coded a web-based version of MacOS and Windows
How a Gemma model helped discover a new potential cancer therapy pathway
Microsoft debuts Copilot Actions for agentic AI-driven Windows tasks
OpenAI, Broadcom Forge Multibillion-Dollar Chip-Development Deal
Reading an article online? It’s now a coin flip whether it was authored by a human or AI
😎 POTW: Travel Apps
In case it isn’t clear enough, not only do I enjoy sharing tech, but I also love talking about travel and food. It’s great when they all mix, too. In the past, I’ve shared posts on How to Travel Smart with Tech, Tech Tips for Safe and Smart Travel, and What’s the Smartest Way to Book Your Next Flight? I try not to overwhelm in any given post, but still try to provide a lot of value. Either way, here are some travel apps that didn’t make any of those posts that you may enjoy!
Road Trip Planner – Find the best stops along the way | Roadtrippers
Wanderlog travel planner: free vacation planner and itinerary app
📦 Featured Product
Christmas is still a couple of months away, but Halloween is closing in! And more and more people are using outdoor lighting systems in place of holiday decorations. There are a few popular brands in this space, but one of the more common and better-rated ones is Govee. Two options include their Outdoor Lights with 72 Pucks, or their Outdoor LED Lighting Strips. Both can connect to your smart home assistant of choice, are a fairly straightforward installation, and can have multiple scenes to match gameday, the upcoming holiday, or your mood of choice.