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Smartphone apps don't listen to your conversations, but they do something equally creepy

Are you afraid that your smartphone is listening to your conversations? It's a conspiracy theory with cult followers: phones eavesdrop on conversations to deliver their targeted ads on Facebook. It is a frightening idea, but perhaps without merit. Researchers have found that smartphones don't listen to or record what you say unless you ask for it, and they certainly don't send it to anyone behind your back. However, don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet, because they could be doing something so sinister. Your phone might not be listening to you, but it might be watching everything you're doing.

A group of five researchers from Northeastern University in Boston analyzed the traffic generated by different smartphone apps to see if they were actually listening to their users to send signals to Facebook for targeted advertising. According to a report from Gizmodo, they selected over 17,000 of the most popular apps on Android to see if they use the phone's microphone to capture audio without the user's knowledge.

The applications included Facebook and its subsidiaries as well as more than 8,000 applications that send information to Facebook. More than 9,000 controlled applications had permission to access the phone's camera and microphone. The researchers used an automated program to interact with the applications and analyzed the traffic generated. They kept a close eye on what type of files the apps generated and if they were sent to an unplanned party.

The research group found no evidence that apps captured or sent audio when the user did not request it. He said it's not definitive proof that phones don't record audio. Although such a scenario did not occur during the research period using automated mechanisms, a different scenario is possible with human users. They attributed this possibility to a limitation in the investigation that an automated system cannot create usernames or log in as humans.

However, they did find screenshots and screen recordings of what people were doing in apps that were being pushed to third-party domains. The Gizmodo report cited the example of GoPuff, a food delivery app with 100,000 downloads, which sends user interactions to mobile analytics company Appsee. While developers share user information with analytics companies, GoPuff has not mentioned it in its privacy policy, the report notes. After being contacted by investigators, GoPuff updated its privacy policy to specifically mention that Appsee has received Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Meanwhile, according to the report, Appsee believes this is a slip from GoPuff. Blaming the food delivery service for misusing Appsee's technology, the company said tracking capabilities had been disabled and all recording data had been removed from its servers.

Citing a Google spokesperson, the report said Appsee's services in this case may put some developers at risk of violating Play Store policies. Google Play policy requires the app to disclose how it collects user data.

In conclusion, mobile apps might not be listening to what you say, they are seeing every decision you make on the screen of a smartphone. And this is sent to third party entities. So don't be surprised if you find that Facebook ads are reading your mind.