Leak from Advertising Giant Suggests Your Phone Really Is Spying on You

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto/Getty In a new report that confirms many people’s worst suspicions, a leaked marketing pitch deck suggests major tech companies are using AI software to eavesdrop on users’ conversations through their devices.

The Daily Mail reports that a leaked pitch deck from marketing firm Cox Media Group (CMG) details how the company’s ‘Active-Listening’ software uses AI to collect and analyze “real-time intent data” from consumers by listening to their conversations via microphones on phones, laptops, and home assistants. The deck touts Facebook, Google, and Amazon as clients of CMG, implying these tech giants could be deploying the Active-Listening service to target users with ads based on what they say in private.

The leak, first reported by 404 Media, opens a window into a practice that tech companies have long denied — using device microphones to gather data on users for advertising purposes. CMG’s Active-Listening software is said to be able to pair voice data with users’ online behavioral data to identify “in-market consumers” who are actively considering purchase decisions. For example, the software could determine from a private conversation that a user is thinking about buying a car, and then serve them targeted ads for vehicles.

The pitch deck outlines a detailed six-step process that the Active-Listening AI uses to extract intent data from overheard conversations on any device with a microphone. It remains unclear whether the software is always listening or only at specific triggered times, such as when making a call. But the system is apparently advanced enough to analyze gathered voice data, combine it with online activity tracking, and pinpoint high-value consumers on the verge of making a purchase.

In response to the revelations, Google quickly distanced itself from CMG, removing the company from its official marketing partners list. Meta and Amazon issued statements indicating they are investigating CMG for potential violations of data privacy policies. However, all three tech giants have previously denied using such listening software, despite rampant user suspicions.

The leak sheds light on CMG’s stunning claim that their “Active-Listening” tools are completely legal, with user consent buried in the fine print of dense terms of service agreements. CMG boasted in a now-deleted blog post that “when a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page terms of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included.”

For years, tech companies have assured the public that the uncanny accuracy of digital ads is simply very smart predictive AI and definitely not the result of unauthorized eavesdropping. Facebook’s own privacy policy still insists “we’re not listening to your conversations.” But this leak will undoubtedly intensify long-simmering fears that Big Tech has found sneaky ways to spy on intimate aspects of our lives to fuel their lucrative ad targeting machines.

As more details emerge, the ‘Active-Listening’ revelations could spark a major privacy reckoning over underhanded digital surveillance practices. At the very least, millions of unnerved users may think twice before gabbing freely in earshot of their devices. Because if this leak is any indication, there’s a decent chance that Alexa, Siri or Google is silently listening in, ready to exploit your private thoughts for profit.