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When adverts pop up on apps, seemingly tailored to you, it can appear like your phone is listening to you.

Tech giants, like Facebook and Google, have been accused of eavesdropping, with some investigations claiming that specific ads appear related to conversations users have had near their phones.

However, a new experiment argues that the idea of phones secretly listening to us is a "myth".

The Claim

Sun Online's Miranda Knox investigated whether mobile phones are listening to us. She concludes that they 100 per cent are, arguing that she has proof.

Knox came up with a list of topics, which she had never Googled before: business cards, spandex, and vegan food.

She began talking about them in the presence of her phone, ensuring that the microphone was turned on in all of her apps.

She reports: "Within days I was inundated with ads related to these keywords."

(Image: AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

Knox received an advert offering half price on business cards, after discussing it with a friend over coffee. Despite being a meat-eater, she got an advert about vegan meal plans following a chat about a new cookbook with another friend.

She asked tech companies, such as Facebook, Amazon, and Sony, for comment, but they did not provide a response.

She adds: "But whether they deny it or not, I'm now 100 per cent convinced my phone has been listening to me."

The Counterclaim

However, BBC's cyber security reporter Joe Tidy explains why phones that secretly listen to us are a "myth".

Wandera, a mobile security company, carried out an investigation to determine whether tech giants are listening to our conversations.

They put two phones - one Android, one Apple - into an "audio room" playing 30 minutes of cat and dog foods ad on repeat. Two identical phones were placed in a silent room.

The researchers also kept apps open for Facebook, Instagram, Chrome, SnapChat, YouTube and Amazon with full permissions. The experiment was repeated at the same time for three days.

They found "no evidence that phones or apps were secretly listening". The activity on both sets of phones were similar with no significant spike in data or battery usage.

Wandera's CEO Elder Tuvey said: "I would put my name to the research and say that we found no evidence at all this was happening on the platforms we tested."

The Facts

There are ways that our mobile phones are listening to us, but it is not necessarily from the microphone.

In 2016, Facebook issued a statement, saying it is not true that they have been eavesdropping from microphones. They said: "We shows ads based on people's interests and other profile information - not what you're talking out loud about."

Facebook's data use policy states that they collect data from "the content, communications and other information you provide when you use our products, including when you sign up for an account, create or share content and message or communicate with others".

Google has similarly denied this. Emily Clarke, a spokesperson for the company, told the BBC that they do not collect data from your microphone, unless you are using the "OK Google" voice-recognition function.

If it is enabled, your phone is listening for the "OK Google" hotword, but it is not recording everything you say and uploading it to Google. As MakeUseOf explains: "Just like with concerns over the Amazon Echo, constantly recording everything a device hears would result in enormous amounts of useless data."

Google's privacy policy describes how they use data to inform ads: "We try to show you useful ads by using data collected from your devices, including your searches and location , websites and apps you have used, videos and ads you have seen, and personal information you have given us, such as your age range, gender, and topics of interest."

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In other words, the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple, et al, do not need to listen in to your conversations, because their algorithms are just that good. They already have so much detailed information about you without eaves-dropping.

Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, describes how effective the tech giants are at gathering information. He said: "It's because inside of a Google server or a Facebook server is a little voodoo doll, avatar-like version of you. Like a model of you.

"And I don't have to listen to your conversations, because I've accumulated all the clicks and likes you've ever made, and it makes this voodoo doll act more and more like you.

"All I have to do is simulate what conversation the voodoo doll is having, and I know the conversation you just had without having to listen to the microphone."