Ever feel like your phone has been eavesdropping on your conversation? Those ads which suddenly appear on your feeds after you were discussing the products are far from a quirky coincidence
Those uncomfortable with seeing adverts for products they were talking about with friends and family hours before can now do something about it.
If you are uneasy that your conversation about whitening toothpaste or a new flavour of gin has turned into a convenient social media post, then you aren't alone.
So if later that day an ad for that same product appears on your smartphone, you may want to take action.
Users of iPhone and Android have long complained that they're being snooped on, but social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have always denied they are listening in.
But according to the DailyStar, while they may not be eavesdropping on us, some advertisers certainly are.
New research from NordVPN suggests companies are using a sneaky type of data monitoring called ultrasonic cross-device tracking and it leaves many of us on edge.
They listen to background noise and serve up personalised ads, while of course charging the company for the pleasure.
According to NordVPN, this cross-device tracking method sees apps use ultrasonic 'audio beacons' which can't be heard by the human ear to 'link all the devices you own to track your behaviour and location'.
These high-pitched signals can be hidden in TV adverts or online videos.
Once your device microphone picks them up, it gives advertisers the ability to identify what you've just been watching or talking about.
Different apps on your phone can listen for these beacons to keep an eye on what you're doing—and this is why some apps ask you for permission to access your microphone.
The impact of this tracking method is seemingly widespread. NordVPN's study found that almost half of Brits (45%) claim to have seen an ad for something appear on their phones soon after talking about it or watching it on TV, without ever searching for it online themselves.
What's more, 62% of consumers said they had no idea how to prevent this and a further one in eight people said the adverts 'scared' them.
NordVPN's Adrianus Warmenhoven said: "While it's impossible to stop the ultrasonic beacons working, you can reduce the chance of your smartphone listening for them by simply restricting unnecessary permissions you have granted the apps on your device."
To change the permissions apps have, you can go to your phone's Settings menu and look for a 'Privacy' option. Here you should be able to see which apps have access to your microphone and limit it where necessary.
Alternatively, you can use a secure browser like Brave, Tor, or DuckDuckGo—or get a VPN, which encrypts all of your online activity.
