Mobile phone myth ?

[fly boy3]

I read an article, that if you can manage to obtain someone elses mobile phone, you can implant a code in it that will allow you to listen to their conversations on your own phone.( perhaps on a cheating spouse lol). Surely this is impossible ?

Edited By fly boy3 on 12/12/2020 12:35:35

[FastFlyer Smyth]

Yes, I've heard this too ! I think it only applies to Iphones, doesn't work on Android apparently.

[J D 8 - Moderator]

You just need to pop down your local "SPY " shop .

[fly boy3]

I know of an 83 year old women who is convinced of this theory. She is a total wreck now, and will not use her mob. phone un less in an emergency. I am just trying to help her but do not know enough about the technology in volved. If it's a myth I can put her mind at rest at least.

[David Hall 9]

I like the "claim" that your phone is always listening to you, in a call or not.. Apparently, your home voice internet connected device can and does do this, and if the TV prog that showed it is to be believed, one giant tech internet sales company also records all it hears.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

She should be OK unless she opens unrecognised attachments to emails etc. or allows physical access to her phone by someone with malicious intent.

[John Wagg]

Posted by David Hall 9 on 12/12/2020 16:45:55:

I like the "claim" that your phone is always listening to you, in a call or not.. Apparently, your home voice internet connected device can and does do this, and if the TV prog that showed it is to be believed, one giant tech internet sales company also records all it hears.

Funny you should mention TV's. Ours is an Android and I wondered if they could tell what programs you watched? It also has voice control, which I never use, but you never know if it's picking up conversation.

[Nigel R]

Technically possible.

Highly illegal.

No large companies are doing this.

Occasional oops moments have occurred with apple/Google i believe but very hastily rectified and data deleted. Or else they would have had a large and expensive class action lawsuit brought against them.

[Guvnor]

Sorry, but if you have any idea how the mobile phone network actually works then you would know that this is completely impossible...

[Frank Skilbeck]

Apparently the home speaker system, Alexa and Google Home etc do record snippets to help them develop their voice recognition systems.

There are spy apps that can be installed on phones and they upload to the internet, so if you are involved in some big corporate takeover or involved in some shady dealing then you might have to be careful. Not sure anybody wants my thoughts on what Lipo/Servo/Prop to use though

[Stephen Smith 14]

There are apps available that allow you from another device to listen to your own phone when not on a call activate your camara or wipe all your data, these are designed to help you if you loss or have your phone stolen, I suppose if you got hold of someone else's phone it would be possible to set it up so you could see and hear them or even wipe there data

[Andy Stephenson]

You can tell if your phone is transmitting, all you need to do is to put it on top of a HiFi speaker or some other audio device. The obvious "tickety tickety" noise which comes out due to the interference of the RF with the circuitry in the speaker system betrays if it's transmitting. It will do this in short bursts occasionally as a matter of course but only register it's existence with the network.

A.

[Tony Richardson]

I'm not one to believe in conspiracy theories, like the one circulating at the moment that the Covid vaccine is impregnated with micro chips to track your every move and a chemical that will allow the government to control you - wherever your government may be - that said I had an interesting experience a couple years ago. My wife and I were at a craft show here in Nanaimo and I spent a large amount of time talking to a couple who had a stained/leaded glass display, it was a hobby for them with a little income on the side, now through the whole conversation I niether gave them my address email or last name, nor did I remove my phone from my pocket, but, and here's the interesting part the next day adverts for supplies to the glass staining/leading hobby started to show up on my phone and laptop?? Now is this coincidence, WAS my phone listening or is the GPS system so sophisticated that it could tell exactly where I was positioned in that building. I might add the main reason I spent so much time talking to this couple was I was interested in how they proteced themselves from the lead fumes, as I wished to start casting my own bullets for my own hobby, so do our devices listen to us, honestly I don't believe so but I could be wrong. Anybody have any ideas???

[Gary Manuel]

Tony,

I've had similar adverts from a hotel I visited for a wedding reception. I put it down to having "Location" turned on my my phones permissions by default. Presumably, the hotel pay Google (or whoever) to send ads to peoples phones who are identified as being in their area. Your stained glass company may have done similar. I now only turn "Location" permission on for apps that I want to have it and am no longer pestered.

[fly boy3]

Update. The reason this lady is paranoid about a certain person listening to her calls, is that this certain person purchased the smart phone and gave it as a present. So there is a possibility that some thing covert may have been entered prior to receiving it. I,m with Govnor here, I don't believe it. Wish I had the technology.

Edited By fly boy3 on 12/12/2020 21:19:56

[Nigel R]

FB3

She could have an independent phone repair shop reset the thing to factory defaults, and remove all doubt.

Job jobbed.

Tony,

down to the phone's location as Gary says. Although I don't think the hotel have anything to do with it. It is simply services like google adsense that "personalise" adverts. At some point, you "will" have "accepted" something that allows your location (amongst other things) to be used to target adverts. The google service will know what businesses are near by virtue of their staff's phones, and presto you are then receiving adverts for similar companies.

[Andy Stephenson]

I would advise anyone with a smart phone to turn off location services (GPS) when you are not needing it. It sucks the battery down, and as mentioned above, "they" can tell exactly where you are, versus only within a mobile cell area without it.

A.

[Robert Cracknell]

For those of you with Android phones that has Google maps installed I suggest that you open Google maps, go to the menu and select 'Your Timeline'. If activated it will tell you exactly where you have been, the time you arrived and departed and how far you travelled on any given date. If any of the premises you visited were registered with Google details of these will come up as well. There is also a share option so that this data can be seen by other people you choose.

In my time as an area sales manager I used this extensively when compiling reports as I found it extremley accurate.

It is not beyond comprehension that 3rd party companies could use a similar system to track mobile phones, capture the number, and then text messages to them. The owner of the phone does not need to be identified for this type of marketing to be carried out, the company merely sends texts to the phone.

[perttime]

Yahya Ayyash - Assassination (on Wikipedia):

**LINK**

Edited By perttime on 13/12/2020 05:32:03

[Cuban8]

Posted by Andy Stephenson on 13/12/2020 00:10:31:

I would advise anyone with a smart phone to turn off location services (GPS) when you are not needing it. It sucks the battery down, and as mentioned above, "they" can tell exactly where you are, versus only within a mobile cell area without it.

A.

Because of a mix up over registration numbers, I was accused quite wrongly of being involved in an RTA. Evidence from my Google Timeline showed that I was nowhere near the site of the incident and the 'case' against me would not be taken any further.

[FlyinFlynn]

Posted by Guvnor on 12/12/2020 18:30:44:

Sorry, but if you have any idea how the mobile phone network actually works then you would know that this is completely impossible...

You are assuming that all data has to go via the cellular network. I would have thought the OP's supposition was entirely feasible, it is Google et al. aim to farm data from its users...not so different from listening in!

[fly boy3]

I tend to agree with you FF. My friend  is only concerned about a person listening to her conversations, as it was this person who purchased and provided the phone. Myself I think it's impossible.

Edited By fly boy3 on 13/12/2020 12:38:27

[Maurice Dyer]

I tell my Grandchildren that my two tin cans and a bit of hairy string works fine.

And I pick up my book and it NEVER gets hacked or frozen. Works just fine. Now I must shuffle back to my cave and continue my experiments with this new fangled fire thing, if the sticks get hot enough.

Maurice

[Cuban8]

My wife's Google Pixel phone listens in to the ambient music that plays on the TV etc during the day and gives a list of what it heard so you can buy it if you want. A bit spooky, but quite innocent I suppose, but if one is conversing about, for instance a political matter and you then get messages from an opposing or agreeing party to your point of view, I'd be worried about that. Does that happen already? If your phone hears you say "I'm hungry" and then sends you a special offer for Deliveroo, would that be OK?

 

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 13/12/2020 13:21:29

[David Hall 9]

Not directly phone only, but we noticed that adverts on website banners appear to know what we are interested in and advertise more similar things. I know that Amazon will list what we have browsed and bought, but this info seems to have been acquired by other sales platforms. I doesn't matter if we browse using the phone or PC.tablet (it's still an internet connection).

Partly, I see this as useful, but a downside is that the system (whatever it is) doesn't differentiate between users attached to my home router. My wife gets invites to buy more bottles of whisky or modelling stuff. Not too bad, but I'd rather some of my purchases stay secret. Just wait.... they'll be selling software to block this action... oh, maybe they already do.

Create the problem and feed the fear, then sell them a solution..  hmm    

 

 

Edited By David Hall 9 on 13/12/2020 14:10:05

Edited By David Hall 9 on 13/12/2020 14:11:37