Your Phone Is Listening: Company Admits Using Conversations for Targeted Ads

A recent investigation by 404Media revealed that Cox Media Group (CMG), a US media conglomerate, admits to listening to user conversations and using that data to target ads. CMG’s ‘Active Listening’ software uses artificial intelligence to capture real-time data from conversations on smartphones and smart TVs. The company claims that Google, Facebook, and Amazon are among its clients who pay $100-$200 per day for this service. Google has since removed CMG from its partner program, while Meta and Amazon are investigating the claims. CMG initially published a blog post detailing this technology before removing it, but archived versions are still available. While the practice is legal, it raises concerns about user privacy and the ethics of using personal conversations for targeted advertising.