I'm convinced people are listening to my phone calls.

05satinGT

Tire Smoking Specialist
Established Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
9,177
Location
CT
So, lately, something very strange has been happening.

Now, before I get to that, I have noticed that when I go on Amazon to browse items, or google search certain things, I see advertisements pop up on my Facebook and Instagram of those products. Although this is creepy, I understand how. I'm logged into Google, that account is the same email as my Amazon account and the same email as my Instagram. Creepy, but at least I see how, no "big" deal.

Now that messed up part. My girlfriend and I don't text that much, we always call each other on the phone. On at least 6-7 occasions within the past month, things that we have talked about on the phone, and ONLY talked about on the phone (not in email, not in text, no web-searching of any sort) have come on in advertisements on social media.

Examples,

A few weeks ago I was speaking with her on the phone, and she told me that she was watching TV and saw the trailer for the movie "Get Out" and she wanted to go see it. Later that day, I was scrolling through Instragram and a sponsored add came up for that movie.

Two days ago, I was heading to her house for dinner but needed to stop at the grocery store to get some things. I called her to ask her if she wanted anything and she said Gelato. A few hours later, I go on instragram and see an add for Gelato, and it was even the same brand as what I bought (the brand might have been a coincidence but still). AND I paid cash for the groceries, no card, and didn't use a Stop and Shop card.

Another time, my gf was getting a new mattress, we talked on the phone about it, BAM an add for mattresses this time on her Instagram.

This next example is different, but equally as creepy. The other day I was at the hospital with my gf visiting her mother. I was thirsty and used a vending machine. It wouldn't take cash so I used my discover card. The machine was out of water so I got a "Fuze" iced tea. Not even a half hour later, went on FB and there was an add for Fuze Iced Tea. I never drank Fuze before, never looked it up. So did the vending machine read my card, see what beverage I got, then linked it to my fb?

This is absolutely ridiculous. Like I said, the search engine things and amazon searching is understandable, but I cannot believe that my phone calls are being heard to advertise products. I almost don't even want to talk on the phone anymore. Such a ****ed up world we live in. It's one thing to monitor phone to prevent acts of terror but for marketing products? That's absolutely ridiculous. This cannot be a coincidence.
 

PaxtonShelby

iamdrab
Established Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2010
Messages
5,434
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
I thought those tennis shoes you wore the other day with the blue jeans and mustang T-shirt while drinking that Fuze tea were pretty cool looking. What kind are they?




Seriously...I got nothing. That is pretty odd. Could your GF be looking at those things online and maybe your accounts are linked somehow?
 

05satinGT

Tire Smoking Specialist
Established Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
9,177
Location
CT
Seriously...I got nothing. That is pretty odd. Could your GF be looking at those things online and maybe your accounts are linked somehow?

We have absolutely nothing linked together account wise. The gelato, spure of the moment run to the grocery store, the movie, she saw the trailer on TV. It happens all too often. Fox news showed something a few days ago on TV saying the Samsung Smart TV's are listening to people's conversations even when the TV is off. Who knows what's happening nowadays.
 

CV355

_
Established Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
3,272
Location
_
I deleted my FB when I started noticing that the "people you might know" were the same people I encountered throughout my day. The waitress at a restaurant would pop up, or the cashier at the grocery store... I realized it had to be that the GPS info on phones utilizing the FB app worked through some damn algorithm that detects when two FB users are in close proximity.

Google AdSense is creepy, but since I got rid of FB, the creepiness factor was reduced.

I also do not use "smart" appliances. I don't trust 'em. My phone has virtually everything disabled unless I need to use it. Crazy world we live in.

I can say this though- there is more behind-the-scenes account linking every day. My old, old Hotmail account from 2003 somehow linked my Steam profile pic when Hotmail was absorbed into Outlook.com. I found out several emails that I sent to potential employers had my Steam pic in them (sock monster). Damn you, interwebs
 

Machdup1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
6,134
Location
U.S.
There are many apps capable of listening, facebook being one of those.

Gmail automatically scans messages for marketing purposes.

Welcome to the Internet.
 

Kiohtee

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
9,365
Location
NC
It's not just you OP.

At the risk of sounding like a tinfoil hat freak, though, all I'll say is I just chalked it up to monitoring or something of the sort (not that anyone is intentionally monitoring me, but I know the technology exists). And since there's nothing you can do about it aside from being a recluse who lives completely off the grid, well, what can you do?
 

bglf83

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Messages
1,719
Location
Texas
There are many apps capable of listening, facebook being one of those.

Gmail automatically scans messages for marketing purposes.

Welcome to the Internet.
This. Are you using an Android phone? I use Android and have to opt out of all this crap. I also do not give access to the microphone if the app does not need it.
 

MackDombles

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2017
Messages
283
Location
Mo
Crazy Is what they called me years back when I wouldn't sigh up for MySpace. I told em one day that crap is going to record and catalog every keystroke. They're going to know where you are when you take a crap,how long you take it, and what you search for in the john.
Crazy, they called me. You just wait a decade when every porn site and dating website you have ever looked at is part of your review to get a job. Or when you Saint Peter is standing there with a laptop showing you the stats of your life.
 

tones_RS3

I like members members.
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
21,281
Location
MA
I trolled the Falcons fans after the Pats won the SUPER Bowl. Now I am getting unsolicited pages for Falcons sports gear. **** Zuckerberg
LOL
You spelled it wrong. It's Cuckerberg! lol
 

chris1badL

Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
450
Location
Harrisburg, NC
I believe it goes off location as well. I have had 2 guys pop up that I work with on people you may know. We have zero mutual friends. Have no clue how Facebook might know. I also don't have where I work, so can't be that. Its crazy...
 

oldmodman

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
16,543
Location
West Los Angeles
Since I am a paranoid from day one I always assume that everything I say is being listened to by some three letter agency, I always spice up my phone conversations with some buzz words.
Cocaine shipment, binary nerve gas, and the always popular improvised thermonuclear device. Then I continue with my normal, incredibly boring conversation with my friends. This way I make some government apparatchik waste his time by having to wade through my worthless drivel, saving one of you guys that are actually going to go down to Mexico to race from being set up.
 

Buckwheat 1

I like Blm junk in my butt
Established Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2015
Messages
5,029
Location
Cape Cod
The only way to tell for sure is to start
talking about midget porn and gerbils.
And wait it out. I get a lot of world star and drag racing stuff. The watchers are listening
 

R.D.P.

Extra Sprinkles
Established Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
4,620
Location
Louisville, KY area
I believe it - especially if you use an Android. One of the reasons I might go back to an iPhone. I think Apple is much more interested in preventing that stuff than Google ever will be.
 

VenomousDSG

Get ready to fly!
Established Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
10,073
Location
Naperville, Il
I've had similar experiences, and yes, you ARE being monitored.

Believe it or not. It's more than likely just a computer analyzing your data, and not an actual person monitoring you. But it's all the same.
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top