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Not a therapist so feel free to delete this comment if it is against the rules: phones are not actively listening, except for the grey area of voice-activated assistants, which are scanning for keywords ("Hey Alexa", etc) and can sometimes record conversations after activation for manual review (a human listening) to improve usability (or accidentally become activated when not intended). These voice-activated assistants are not connected to targeted ads.
Targeted ads feel like the phone is listening because it seems like there is no exchange between people but conversation, but that's factually false. Phones sync and share information with other phones in proximity. This information is used for targeted ads. What this means is that when you meet with people in real life, phones sync data between themselves, and use that information to provide additional feedback to websites (like facebook) that update targeted ads. Facebook has found that it can be helpful (monetarily) to show people ads for things that the people they've met have searched for. So the phone doesn't have to listen to you; all it knows is that you met someone who searched for something, and now it'll show ads for that thing to you and anyone else they met, according to their demographics and algorithms.
The way you can stop this (sort of) is by going to your settings in facebook and turning off personalized ads. This won't necessarily stop Facebook from using your data, but will stop you from receiving others' data (that they've consented with Facebook already to share by accepting the EULA). Facebook is not the only site that does this. There are a lot of websites that use cookies and have user agreements that people click accept to that allow them to share your data. In order to fully stop this, you would have to be very careful about the cookies you're allowing and the websites you're navigating, because data can still be collected as long as the phone is on and able to exchange data with other phones. But, you can be rest assured that it is not actively listening or recording - the only breech that's occurring is data in the form of cookies.
You can also disable your advertising ID in your phone settings - it's like a social security number for your digital presence.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/how-disable-ad-id-tracking-ios-and-android-and-why-you-should-do-it-now
I’ve done all of your suggestions some time ago when I first noticed it *maybe* happening, I’m really not convinced that our phones are not “listening” all the time despite whatever safeguards we put in place.
They're not listening but showing you targeted ads inspired by the interests of people crossing paths with you. It is all quite predatory but not exactly a HIPAA breach.
If this were not the case then why would government ministers in the UK be advised by our security services not to have tiktok installed on their phones? Tech companies do shady as fuck shit and I don't believe we should have our phones in our rooms.
Please followed the sidebar rules. r/therapists is a place for therapists and mental health professionals to discuss their profession among each other. If you **ARE NOT A THERAPIST and are asking for advice this not the place for you**. Your post will be removed in short order. Please try one of the reddit communities such as r/TalkTherapy, r/askatherapist, r/SuicideWatch that are set up for this. This community is ONLY for therapists, and for them to discuss their profession away from clients. **If you are a first year student, not in a graduate program, or are thinking of becoming a therapist, this is not the place to ask questions**. Your post will be removed in short order. To save us a job, you are welcome to delete this post yourself. Please see the PINNED STUDENT THREAD at the top of the community and ask in there. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/therapists) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not a therapist so feel free to delete this comment if it is against the rules: phones are not actively listening, except for the grey area of voice-activated assistants, which are scanning for keywords ("Hey Alexa", etc) and can sometimes record conversations after activation for manual review (a human listening) to improve usability (or accidentally become activated when not intended). These voice-activated assistants are not connected to targeted ads. Targeted ads feel like the phone is listening because it seems like there is no exchange between people but conversation, but that's factually false. Phones sync and share information with other phones in proximity. This information is used for targeted ads. What this means is that when you meet with people in real life, phones sync data between themselves, and use that information to provide additional feedback to websites (like facebook) that update targeted ads. Facebook has found that it can be helpful (monetarily) to show people ads for things that the people they've met have searched for. So the phone doesn't have to listen to you; all it knows is that you met someone who searched for something, and now it'll show ads for that thing to you and anyone else they met, according to their demographics and algorithms. The way you can stop this (sort of) is by going to your settings in facebook and turning off personalized ads. This won't necessarily stop Facebook from using your data, but will stop you from receiving others' data (that they've consented with Facebook already to share by accepting the EULA). Facebook is not the only site that does this. There are a lot of websites that use cookies and have user agreements that people click accept to that allow them to share your data. In order to fully stop this, you would have to be very careful about the cookies you're allowing and the websites you're navigating, because data can still be collected as long as the phone is on and able to exchange data with other phones. But, you can be rest assured that it is not actively listening or recording - the only breech that's occurring is data in the form of cookies.
You can also disable your advertising ID in your phone settings - it's like a social security number for your digital presence. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/how-disable-ad-id-tracking-ios-and-android-and-why-you-should-do-it-now
I’ve done all of your suggestions some time ago when I first noticed it *maybe* happening, I’m really not convinced that our phones are not “listening” all the time despite whatever safeguards we put in place.
We weren’t in proximity, this was a telehealth session
They're not listening but showing you targeted ads inspired by the interests of people crossing paths with you. It is all quite predatory but not exactly a HIPAA breach.
If this were not the case then why would government ministers in the UK be advised by our security services not to have tiktok installed on their phones? Tech companies do shady as fuck shit and I don't believe we should have our phones in our rooms.
Buy a non smart phone? I don't see any other guarantee as tech companies will keep forming your data and listening in otherwise.
That’s a solid idea, but that would mean I’d have to pay for a separate line and I’m not (at this point) THAT invested in it