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It’s no secret that the government collects our data, the question is to what extent? After 9/11, the US government started a program that would allow the NSA to collect and log millions of American’s phone calls. Despite the program being officially ended, The NSA still has access to everyone’s records. The program is now conducted under a law called section 702. This allows the government to collect Americans emails if they’re with someone from a foreign country.
The US government is not the only entity who collects our data though ᠆ our phones do, too. Have you ever talked about something with your friends, then you open your phone and go to Instagram only to see an ad about the same thing? I know I have. Despite it being an invasion of privacy, it’s not illegal. Although Facebook and Instagram deny listening to their users, many people have tested this out by purposely talking about things they’ve never talked about before. Within hours ads for those topics will begin showing up. Coincidence, I think not.
With newer phones and devices, we know they listen because of voice commands such as “Alexa” or “Hi Bixby.” However, it's clear that our phones are listening to us all the time. Edward Whittingham, a cyber expert, said that he himself has experienced this, but that it’s not really anything to be concerned about. Alexa does keep track of everything it records and you can actually access that information and delete it if you wish. You can also change your privacy settings, so that you manually have to turn on the recording.
There are some precautions you can take to prevent your data from being collected, but honestly there aren’t many. One girl who tried to completely block Google out of her life found out that she wasn’t able to do anything because everything was run by Google. Security experts advise to check the terms of service for apps and websites you’re using, because there isn’t much else you can do to protect yourself from the entourage of data collection.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/8678640/proof-phones-listening-to-us-talk-conversations/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanpettijohn/2019/09/03/of-course-your-phone-is-listening-to-you/#105b4f036a3f
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-the-government-can-get-your-personal-information
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2019/04/19/alexa-is-listening-all-the-time-heres-how-to-stop-it/#5de2248b5e2d