The reason why those strangely relevant ads keep appearing, and what’s really happening under the underneath the.
You speak about purchasing water filters, and then your feeds are flooded with water filter advertisements. Do you know that your phone is listening?
In short, There’s not enough evidence to suggest that the most popular apps secretly recording your conversations in order to show advertisements. Numerous investigations have revealed that there’s no systemic microphone eavesdropping to aid in advertising, and the major platforms are still refusing to acknowledge it, even when they acknowledge that they are using a variety of other information to tailor content.
In addition you can see that both iOS and Android display an on-screen indicator that indicate when an app is using your camera or microphone (that tiny green or orange dot on iPhone as well as a similar indicator on Android) Also, you can determine which app is logging in to them.
What can your mobile will (and cannot) do
The OS gatekeepers
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iPhone (iOS 14+): An orange dot indicates that the microphone is active; green means the camera (or microphone and camera). You can view the access to your microphone within the app the Settings menu titled Privacy and Security Microphone.
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Google (12+): Mic/camera indicators are displayed on the bar of status. Quick Settings has global kill switches for microphones and cameras and privacy dashboard provides the chronology of the apps that used the microphone.
In the latest versions in the latest versions, background access to microphone is restricted to a significant extent; recordings that continue to be recorded generally require foreground usage, explicit authorization or special background settings (e.g. calls/VoIP, vocal notes).
The evidence to date
A well-known test conducted by academics that looked at thousands of Android applications discovered no indication that they switched on your microphone to show ads. It did however find certain applications that recorded screens and transmitting video to third-party companies (creepy however, they are different).
And when you see a scary headline about humans “listening,” it’s typically about voice assistant recordings (Siri/Assistant/Alexa) that users triggered–some of which were reviewed by contractors for quality years ago, and later paused/changed after public backlash. This isn’t an ad-targeting scheme that hides using microphones that never stop recording but it’s an issue with privacy.
Then why do they seem to think they’re watching?
They do this because they don’t have a need for your microphone. Advertisers stitch together signals such as:
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Your web/app activity (pages visited, app events, searches). Read Google’s own explanation on the way “My Ad Center” uses your activities to tailor advertisements.
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Social and Look-alike signals (people similar to you who clicked the X). Meta is a description of how machine learning can improve the way you can deliver your message without microphone audio.
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Location and feeds from data brokers (where permitted). The ongoing FTC case against the data broker Kochava illustrates how sensitive information about location can be sold or linked.
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cognitive bias: When you say “water filters,” your brain starts to pay attention to water-filtering every thing–the “frequency illusion”.
The latest background on October 1st 2025 the Instagram’s Adam Mosseri publicly reiterated that Instagram doesn’t listen to your microphone for advertisements and provided other (less frightening, less spooky) motives for why you receive relevant advertisements.
It is the actual audio-related risk to watch
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Permissions can be a nightmare apps that legitimately request access to the mic (voice notes meetings, calls, etc.) can increase your exposure when misused. Make use of the OS tools listed above to ensure you are on an eye on your device.
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Ultrasonic “audio beacons” (historic but instructive): Years ago when the FTC cautioned developers about SDKs (e.g., SilverPush) that could listen for inaudible beacons that could track TV watching Researchers have documented hundreds to dozens of apps equipped with these capabilities. The practice was then pushed away from the public eye, but it illustrates why the quality of the importance of permission hygiene is.
How can you tell if a application has been listening (and to stop the app)
On iPhone
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Be on the lookout at the dots (orange is mic). Look down to find the app’s name when it appears.
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Access to audit mic: Settings – Privacy and Security – microphone Turn off unnecessary applications.
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Reviews tracking: Settings – Privacy and Security tracking in the direction of “Ask Apps Not to Track.” You can also deactivate Apple’s ads personalization.
On Android (12+)
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Access the Privacy Dashboard: Settings – Security and Privacy – Privacy – Privacy Dashboard Tap the microphone to show the timeline of access.
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Use the kill switch Quick Settings Quick Settings Turn off the mic to disable all applications immediately.
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Per-app control: Settings – Security & Privacy – Privacy – Permission Manager – Microphone.
Make your advertisements less personal (if you wish)
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Google The Google page is available at My Ad Center to turn off personalization of ads or adjust the brands and topics shown.
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Android Ad ID: Settings – Privacy – Ads – Delete or Reset advertising ID (Android 12+).
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Apple gadgets You can turn off personalized ads within Settings Security & Security. Apple Advertising. (ATT can also stop the inter-app tracker.)
A simple, rational threat model
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Everyone-day users The biggest risk comprise brokering data, over-permissive apps as well as Cross-app monitoring–not hidden microphones that are always on. Secure permissions and advertising settings first.
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High-risk users (activist journalist, activist VIP): Consider managed/enterprise browsers, more rigorous devices, and threat-modeling for spyware targeted to specific users–a separate topic from this article.
Bottom line
Your phone might listen to you if you granted an app permission and the app is active using it. However, modern iOS and Android make that possible to control and monitor. The reason ads are eerie is due to the amount of data that you already generate (plus an innate brain that loves patterns) It’s not a secret always-on wiretap. Make sure your microphone permissions aren’t too tight and watch the indicator lights and then dial back personalization of ads in the event that it irritates you.
