Social Media

Twitter Thread Explains The Sinister Truth Behind Our Targeted Ads

Are our mobile phones really listening to our conversations?

Published

June 1, 2021

Credit: Flickr

Have you ever wondered why your phone always seems to give you adverts for items you have been discussing with friends and family? This Twitter thread explains it all.

Whilst we may joke that it always seems as though our mobile phones are listening to our conversations, the reality is much darker. Twitter user, Robert G. Reeve explained how these adverts on our phones work and why it is so much worse than just our phones listening to our conversations.

First of all, your social media apps are not listening to you. This is a conspiracy theory. It's been debunked over and over again.

But frankly they don't need to because everything else you give them unthinkingly is way cheaper and way more powerful.
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

Your apps collect a ton of data from your phone. Your unique device ID. Your location. Your demographics. Weknowdis.

Data aggregators pay to pull in data from EVERYWHERE. When I use my discount card at the grocery store? Every purchase? That's a dataset for sale. pic.twitter.com/r052qqNsxe
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

Here's where it gets truly nuts, though.

If my phone is regularly in the same GPS location as another phone, they take note of that. They start reconstructing the web of people I'm in regular contact with.
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

It will serve me ads for things I DON'T WANT, but it knows someone I'm in regular contact with might want.

To subliminally get me to start a conversation about, I don't know, fucking toothpaste.

It never needed to listen to me for this. It's just comparing aggregated metadata.
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

However, there is something we can do to stop our phones from accessing so much of our information, and Robert G. Reeve tells us how.

Apple's latest updates let you block apps' tracking and Facebook is MAD. They're BEGGING you to just press accept and go back to business as usual.

Block the fuck out of every app's ads. It's not just about you: your data reshapes the internet.

https://t.co/3ZCUELWqfA
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

If you have not already, then you should definitely consider blocking apps from tracking you, it will not only protect your privacy but stop you receiving annoying adverts for products you are not interested in.