A marketing agency says it is able to target potential customers using their smartphone, connected TV or other device. If true, it would confirm the many theories circulating that we are all being listened to to show us more personalized ads.
It’s not even hidden: the marketing agency of an American media giant called Cox Media Group says it can listen to conversations via the microphones of a smartphone or connected TV. This is what would allow them to create even more targeted advertisements for the benefit of their customers.
L'” active listening »: are the theories true?
It is 404 Media which reveals the affair: journalist Joseph Cox consulted one of the pages of Cox Media Group Local Solutions, a communications agency specializing in digital affiliated with Cox Media Group (which owns a number of television channels and radio stations local locations across the Atlantic). Until then, it had a page dedicated to “ active listening », which is no longer accessible today (but which is via the Wayback Machine, with the latest version dating from November 16, 2023).
The company states that it “ can now use voice data to target your advertising to the exact people you’re looking for. » Until now, tapping for targeted advertising was a myth and very complex to verify. It would be a first if this were really the case. For the moment, ” active listening is still in its infancy, but the return on investment is already impressive » according to the company. According to 404 Media, there is no evidence that the technology is used, or even that it is used on commercial devices. A priori, its market is only American: as a European user, you should not be listened to. In fact, customers must define a scope of use of the service.
When reality seems to exceed fiction
The dystopian effect is almost parodied with the slogan “ It’s true. Your devices listen to you. » The selling point is that its customers can “ target potential customers or customers who use terms » which may be of interest to CMG’s corporate clients. The idea is to listen to consumers when they tell their loved ones that they are interested in purchasing a new car or a new banking product. The argument is that CMG can help you determine who they are, in order to display advertising to them in relation to the needs they have expressed.
As a good communications agency, CMG seems to have the right words to convince its clients in a blog article, since deleted (but of which a backup exists): “ This is a world where no pre-purchase whisper goes unanalyzed, and where consumer whispers become a tool that allows you to target, retarget and capture your local market. » She specifies that “ this is not a distant fantasy ”, but from an existing technology “ available today “.
The agency specifies that all tapping is analyzed by artificial intelligence to determine which conversations are of interest. The technical explanations are quite poor: “ This may seem like black magic, but it’s not – it’s AI. » Only one “is mentioned technology partner » which aggregates and analyzes voice data « during pre-purchase conversations. » What CMG doesn’t say, however, is how it avoids listening to conversations that are not related to a purchase. Then, the agency sets up the keywords that must be found in the advertisements and allows data relating to users to be exported (we imagine that this is location, gender, age, etc. .) to advertising platforms (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, etc.).
Is this legal? Probably not really
As for the legality of the approach, CMG fully assumes: “ Is this legal? YES, it is completely legal for phones and devices to listen to you. Indeed, consumers generally give their consent when they accept the terms and conditions of software updates or application downloads. » She adds that “ active listening is often included in the fine print “, which may imply that it recognizes that consumer choice is not necessarily informed.
In another blog post (since deleted), the company specifies that “ When you purchase a new device and agree to the terms and conditions, you consent to your phone listening to you when it is turned on. » Note that today, both on iOS and Android, a permission request window appears when an application wants to access your microphone. Moreover, on our smartphones, a sticker is displayed when an application uses the microphone.
As stated 404 Media« intercepting communications without proper consent may violate wiretapping laws “. Another possibility: it is completely legal, but not necessarily moral. It is also possible that CMG is taking advantage of a legal loophole. Contacted by 404 Media, the agency and its sales representatives did not wish to comment. Same thing for CMG partners, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google.
Is it really useful to listen to yourself on your phone?
If it is technically possible (and the Pegasus affair can confirm this), it is still difficult to put in place. The journalists of 9to5Mac point out that it would require significant computing power to analyze all the conversations.
Especially since what consumers need, they already show it through their Internet searches. This is what the famous cookies are for: to track you to find out what interests you. A much more developed and above all less expensive technology.