A media company that has partnered with giants like Google and Meta has admitted that it can target ads based on conversations picked up near device microphones. If you thought you were going crazy seeing ads after talking to a friend about a particular topic, here’s some reassurance (or not at all).
CMG spied on consumers
According to a survey by 404 Mediathe media conglomerate Cox Media Group (CMG) has offered tech companies a new targeted advertising tool, using audio recordings collected from smart home devices. CMG counts among its partners Facebook, Google, Amazon And Bing.
In a presentation to Google, Facebook and others in November 2023, CMG called active monitoring and listening technology “Voice Data”The company also mentioned using artificial intelligence to analyze consumers’ online behavior.
Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have said 404 Media that they are not involved in CMG’s Voice Data tool. For its part, Google even removed CMG from its partners after the publication of the report, after 11 years of collaboration. Worse on the Amazon side, it was the very first advertising partner of the e-commerce giant.
In an explicit passage, CMG writes: “Yes, our phones are listening to us,” explaining how companies can use this data to target ads more effectively.
At most times of the day, a smart device is about two inches away from us. That means a device is often within earshot when we’re discussing our weekend plans, our kitchen renovation, or the perfect SUV for our family.
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When small businesses know who needs them, they can target their ads more precisely, waste less money, and grow their audience.
The presentation does not specify where CMG gets this voice data from, whether it is via a particular brand of smart TV, a connected speaker or a smartphone. Given the results obtained, it is a safe bet that it is mainly smartphones, since Google and Microsoft are indirectly involved.
Remember that most phones, whether Android or iOS, now notify users when a service accesses the microphone. On Android, a green dot appears in the top right, while on iPhone, it’s an orange dot.
Has this ever happened to you?