Welcome to Ask Jerry. Here we will talk about all the questions that will be useful in your life. I’m Jerry. I’ve spent most of my life working in technology. I have a background in engineering and R&D, and have covered Android and Google for the past 15 years.
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Is my phone really spying on me?
Caleb asks.
Hello
When talking about cell phones, I’ve heard people say that it’s like carrying a spy or tracking device in your pocket wherever you go. Is this true?
Thank you Jerry!
Hi Caleb! I’ve heard similar things too, said It’s happened once or twice — because it’s mostly true. If someone were to invent the perfect passive spy device, it would look a lot like the phones we carry around with us every day.
Simply put, if you are using some kind of voice assistant, your phone will “listen” to every word, but will only react if it hears the right word. Some apps also allow you to hear what your microphone sounds like if you give permission. Additionally, most apps and services track your location unless you explicitly deny permission, but you can’t stop your phone provider from tracking your location in real time and keeping a log of where you go. you can’t.
You can’t escape from it. Your cell phone tracks your movements and probably eavesdrops on everything it hears. If you stop and think about it, that’s exactly what it was designed to do. No matter what brand or operating system you use, your phone is tracking you in some way.
When it comes to accessing the microphone, you have to allow it, so you can control some of this. Nothing on your phone can use the microphone, including the “apps” you use to make calls. You are not allowed to do that.
But probably not. It’s not your fault either. Some apps have permission to automatically use your microphone, such as the phone dialer I mentioned earlier. It makes sense to enable this because when you plan to call someone, the company includes the phone number you want to talk to on one end of the conversation. Other apps that want to hear something will have to ask you. You may have seen this little pop-up message asking for permission.
The problem is that most people just tap “yes” or “ok” without paying attention, and app developers often make it mandatory if they want their apps to work, and The problem is that the wording explaining what’s going on isn’t very clear. You may not understand what I’m saying even after reading everything, but that’s okay.
A good example is an app that is listening and running on the screen when a timeout occurs and the display turns off. That app may still be running and continuing to listen to what the developer wants it to hear. App permissions, especially on Android, are very complex and intertwined in many confusing ways.
That said, most app developers aren’t trying to spy on your conversations. The app expects to hear something specific so it can react to it, just like Google Assistant, Siri, or Gemini. Technically, your Assistant or Amazon Alexa app is spying on you, but only because you want it to. You gave it permission.
On most modern cell phones, you can turn off the microphone completely and stop all microphones if you don’t want anyone or anything to hear you.
Location tracking works in much the same way. Your phone comes preinstalled with apps that require location information for features such as Google Maps. You can also install many other apps that use location information in ways that developers think will make the app better.
Location permissions are a bit complicated because location information can be determined in a variety of ways. Your phone can use nearby Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices to get a “rough” location without using GPS. This is convenient and fast in large areas. If you create an app that helps you navigate around Disneyland using only Bluetooth beacons, it will update quickly and use much less battery than using GPS. It may also be more accurate depending on the amount and placement of known markers.
In most cases, mobile phones use GPS to obtain “precise” location information. Typically accurate to within 3 feet.
You can allow only general location or exact location for most apps. You can also turn off location services completely in your phone’s settings, but neither will work.
Now, when it comes to carriers actively tracking your every move, throw all that out the window.
Telecommunications carriers can use phone networks to track users, and all carriers do this.
That’s okay, because you need to do this to ensure proper signal coverage. However, they also keep these records and have been known to sell the data to anyone who will pay them. That’s not very good.
It is technically possible for this to occur even without an active connection. In the United States (and sometimes other countries), you can make an emergency call to 911 even if your cell phone is locked and has no SIM connection to your carrier. This is a safety feature that is a great idea. This also means that the mobile phone is pinging the mobile site and pinging back. If three cell sites are within range, the position can be easily calculated.
I’ve never heard of anyone being tracked in this way, but it does reinforce the idea that the only way to prevent anyone from tracking your location is to not carry your phone with you. I’m doing it.
This doesn’t mean it’s bad to carry your phone with you. Even without a cell phone, you can often be tracked by where and when you use your camera or car or bus pass. If you want someone to hear your every word, equipment exists and can easily be purchased that can do so from over 100 feet away.
The average Joe or Jane doesn’t spend time creating a popular mobile app that can listen to and track people’s voices. Also, most apps that can do that have a good reason for doing so. Plus, you can control when and where it happens.
As long as your carrier is tracking you, there’s nothing you can do except be careful.
