452: Are your devices spying on you?

The boys drink and review Flannel Fest, a dunkel from Sam Adams, then wonder whether our electronic devices are spying on us.

There are levels of spying. A pixel phone is always listening to you because it has to be ready to respond when you say "Okay Google." The question is not whether it's listening, but whether it's recording what you say.

A lot of people their phones are spying on them because they talk with friends about some topic, they then see ads on that topic. Is that confirmation bias in action, or is it actually happening?

The tech platforms claim they are not doing this, but there are companies that claim they are doing it, and are trying to sell that service to advertisers.

It's not just the phones. Video doorbells are spying on us. The maps we use in our cars are spying on us. Health devices are spying on us.

The boys discuss the positives and negatives of these services.

For some other treatments of the same topic, try these.

Mark Hurst: "Even more devices are spying on you."

https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/143859

Skeptoid: "How Your Driving Is Being Tracked"

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4947

Joseph Cox: "Here's the Pitch Deck for 'Active Listening' Ad Targeting

https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/