Evidence synthesis Evidence in 2026: Are your phone apps secretly listening (17 studies)
Research has found no direct evidence that major consumer apps continuously record and upload ambient audio for ad targeting. However, documented gaps in detection infrastructure, opaque proprietary systems, and at least one real-world commercial claim of ambient audio capture mean the question cannot be fully closed. The most supported explanation involves sophisticated behavioural inference rather than covert listening, but that explanation itself rests partly on absence of evidence rather than full transparency.
17 studies · Studies 1998 to 2025
Low-moderate confidence overall