Study Reveals Advertisers Employing Active Listening via Smart Devices for Targeted Ads

Recent findings have unveiled a concerning reality: advertisers, including Cox Media Group (CMG), are leveraging active listening through built-in smartphone and smart TV microphones to glean real-time conversations for targeted advertising. The CMG report sheds light on their ability to tap into ambient discussions, citing the use of Voice Data to pinpoint potential customers. The revelation validates widespread suspicions as users frequently report encountering ads related to recent offline conversations.

CMG defends this practice, asserting legality through user consent within app downloads and software updates’ terms and conditions. While this stirs privacy concerns, little is known about the extent of other advertisers using similar techniques and their data collection methods.

The release of this report ignites discussions on privacy violations and the use of Artificial Intelligence to interpret conversations for marketing purposes. Questions linger about potential circumvention of device notification systems.