The world is becoming extremely tech savvy, and today’s phones are only getting smarter. Devices can hear everything you do, and they know more about you than the people who you walk by each and every day.
A debate has sparked about whether or not people should be more careful with what they say around their phones today. Jonathan Hernandez, Best Buy Geek Squad technician, said that the phones are constantly listening to their owners. He also said, “There’s different phrases and words that the phone stays with that’ll help the phones move in a convenient way for their users.”
The remarks that the government is eyeballing each smartphone user are questionable. Each phone owner has to sign off on the fine print that they claim to have read. Most of the situations that aggravate consumers is actually what they signed up for.
Vida Faniel (senior, Sociology) is big on social media and he uses his voice/face recognition a lot on his phone. He said, “I notice almost every time I talk about buying something it pops up on my Instagram recommendations and ads, which is kinda’ strange.” Faniel does not believe that it is a total invasion of privacy, because people sign information that they don’t fully read and because it isn’t causing any harm in his life or his family’s life.
The concept of our privacy has changed over time. Everyone is sharing and showing what is private to the public. The phone companies are making things much more convenient through their technology, but at the same time the phones can be over barring.
Although the phones can feel overly knowledgeable, there is not too much to worry about. Mobile telephone technician, John Golden said, “The phones are on standby waiting for key words that trigger for companies that buy the information like Facebook and different social media networks.” Just because the companies receive these key words does not mean they are listening to full blown conversations.
Although certain companies might be receiving information, there is nothing to worry about. Even if the information is going to the NSA or the government, they spend their time with more important matters. If they need to tap a phone, they can do it, but the voice recognition is mostly used for convenience on social media sites, phone applications, and internet shopping. Always be careful but don’t be fearful.
