Have you ever noticed how much of a freaky coincidence it is when you talk about something to someone in real life, only to have an ad for that product popup on your phone later? Now companies such as Facebook have been accused of spying on its users by listening to conversations, something that the company has denied repeatedly, now it looks like Apple is denying similar allegations.
According to a report from Reuters, Apple recently told US lawmakers that the company’s iPhones do not listen in on its users without their consent, and that third-party apps do not either. Apple’s defense of their iPhones came after they were asked whether or not their devices had invaded the privacy of its users.
This also came on the heels of concerns regarding smart speakers which are constantly listening out for certain trigger words or phrases. Representatives Greg Walden, Marsha Blackburn, Gregg Harper and Robert Latta had expressed their concern to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet’s Larry Page back in July, where they were worried about such devices collecting non-triggered data from the conversations of their users.
According to Apple, this does not happen as users will need to explicitly approve microphone access by apps, and that apps also need to display a clear signal that they are currently listening to the user.