• Cox Media Group wrote about "Active Listening" in a recent blog post to help with targeted ads.
  • It claimed to be able to use smart devices to listen in on conversations and advertise based on what is heard.
  • It's unclear whether this is something that is actually happening, and the company has since deleted the page.

It sounds like something you'd hear from your paranoid friend: your devices are listening to you so that companies can market items to you based on your conversations.

Except that's exactly what a marketing company is bragging about, a new report from 404 Media reveals.

Cox Media Group recently gave advertisers an overview of a new technology it calls Active Listening. CMG claimed that its technology can use microphone data from devices like smartphones and tablets, specifically analyzing "pre-purchase conversations." The since-deleted blog post also mentions using AI to determine when the phrases heard from smart devices could be "relevant" to advertisers.

A photo of Cox Media Group's overview of Active Listening.
Cox Media Group wrote about Active Listening in a deleted blog post, writing "Imagine a world where you can read minds."
Business Insider

The blog post discussing Active Listening has since been deleted from CMG's website — trying to access the page on Friday just took you back to CMG's home page. However, an archived version of the post is still available.

CMG described Active Listening as "a world where no pre-purchased murmurs go unanalyzed," telling advertisers that "the whispers of consumers become a tool for you to target."

The company said in the blog post that its Active Listening is legal.

"We know what you're thinking. Is this even legal?" the post said. "It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included."

A screenshot of Cox Media Group's FAQ section on Active Listening.
A screenshot from Cox Media Group's since-deleted blog post on "Active Listening."
Business Insider

Active Listening uses voice data from conversations that users have, according to CMG. This is possible thanks to AI and the "growing ability to access microphone data."

CMG also said it can set certain terms as keywords for advertisers that could relate to different items or services they are trying to sell. This would enable advertisers to target customers based on who might have used these keywords.

"With this unprecedented understanding of consumer behavior, we can deliver personalized ads that make your target audience think: wow, they must be a mind reader," CMG wrote.

It's important to note that it's not clear whether this technology and marketing is actually happening.

Cox Media Group issued a statement to 404 Media, saying that its businesses "do not listen to any conversations."

"CMG Local Solutions markets a wide range of advertising tools. Like other advertising companies, some of those tools include third-party vendor products powered by data sets sourced from users by various social media and other applications then packaged and resold to data servicers," a company spokesperson told the publication. "Advertising data based on voice and other data is collected by these platforms and devices under the terms and conditions provided by those apps and accepted by their users, and can then be sold to third-party companies and converted into anonymized information for advertisers. This anonymized data then is resold by numerous advertising companies."

"CMG businesses do not listen to any conversations or have access to anything beyond a third-party aggregated, anonymized and fully encrypted data set that can be used for ad placement. We regret any confusion and we are committed to ensuring our marketing is clear and transparent," the company's statement continued.

The marketing claims in the since-deleted blog post won't help with larger privacy fears around devices with microphones in them. Some people have long claimed without evidence that apps like Facebook listen to your conversations to serve you better ads (Facebook has long denied this, saying that the app only uses your microphone with permission and when you are using a feature that would require a microphone, like recording audio or video). On top of that, there is a way to disable Facebook and Instagram's access to your smartphone mic.

Apple has changed in recent years to its iOS software to force app-makers to be more transparent when an app is accessing or using your device's microphone or location data. Your iPhone also shows an orange dot in the top-right corner of the screen when your phone's microphone is in use, like during a phone call.