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Last month my phone kept buzzing me with ads for stuff I talked about near my work desk
It's the same reason I never tell Siri anything I actually need to buy now. I think they're using ambient data from your mic combined with your location patterns to predict what you want. Have you checked if your phone has a microphone access list that looks suspicious?
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phoenix_bailey14d ago
Has your phone been connecting to any random open wifi networks lately? I noticed mine started acting up after it automatically joined a public network at a coffee shop near my office. Could be a man-in-the-middle thing where the network itself is listening and feeding data to ad servers. Check your saved networks and delete anything you don't recognize.
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patricia26214d ago
Huh, you're right. I never thought about the wifi listening thing before. Changed my mind now.
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logan65814d ago
@patricia262 You know, that wifi listening idea really does change things when you stop and think about it. I had a similar moment last year when my phone kept suggesting ads for a hardware store I walked past. Creepy stuff.
As for what phoenix_bailey said about open networks, I learned the hard way. I was that guy who connected to "Free Airport WiFi" without a second thought. Ended up getting a weird popup asking me to verify my identity. Luckily I backed out before giving away any passwords, but it scared me good.
Now I just keep wifi off unless I'm home or at work. My phone probably thinks I'm a paranoid old man, but I'd rather be paranoid than have my data sold to the highest bidder.
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