04/21/2026
Yes, it’s true, if you give apps access to your microphone, they’re likely listening into your conversation and potentially using or selling that data.
I’ve talked about this before, but I wanted to demonstrate just how far the mic can pick up your voice so even if you’re on the other side of the room or far away from your phone, you’re a microphone can probably still hear you and AI can for sure pick up on what you’re saying, even if the human ear cannot.
Watch the video for a clear demonstration Instagram easily captioned exactly what I was saying even when I was 30 feet away.
So what I suggest you do?
* The easiest place to start is in your settings. Go to settings, privacy and security microphone to see which apps you’ve given an access disable as many as possible and only keep the ones that are absolutely necessary.
* If you’re having a sensitive conversation that you don’t want anyone to hear, I would recommend putting it on airplane mode, turning it off, sticking it in a faraday bag or cover it up tucked away in a drawer somewhere.
Just a small thing to be aware of as you think about protecting your online privacy, comment privacy, and I’ll send you my guide with a bunch of other easy tips to protect your online privacy. Be well!
