Smartphone owners these days have a whole lot of different features to juggle, as well as certain safety concerns, like whether your device is listening to you.
These days, there are many iPhone and Android users who are worried about their phones listening to them and their conversations. Not only is this concept associated with tailoring and targeting advertisements for users, but it also has smartphone owners fearing for their data and personal information. Luckily, earlier this year, tech expert Kurt ‘CyberGuy’ Knutsson gave an interview where he discussed how you can see which of your apps might be ‘listening’ to you and how to stop them. Read more about what he had to say below.
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How To Check These Apps On Your Phone
The key to figuring out which apps might be listening to you is taking a look at which apps might have access to your device's microphone. When you download an app, you might blaze through its permissions, including when it asks for access to your microphone.
Sometimes, you might not even notice an app has access to your microphone. To see the list of apps that have access to your microphone and, therefore, could be listening to your iPhone, you follow a process that Kurt Knutsson said on Fox Business Live is "so easy."
"Go to settings, you're gonna scroll way on down to Privacy & Security, then scroll a bit more down, and you're gonna find microphone," he instructed. "Now green [toggles] means that they have access to your mic. If it's gray, no access."
Be sure to toggle off any apps you feel do not need access to your microphone, like mail apps, ride share apps, certain social media apps, etc. Knutsson also notes this process for Androids is "very similar," as you can access the same list by going to Settings > Privacy Settings > Permission Manager > Microphone.
Other Warning Signs To Look Out For
In addition to turning off access to your microphone for certain apps, there is something else you can look out for while using your iPhone in particular.
"If you ever notice at the tip top of your iPhone, a little tiny orange dot, that means something is accessing your microphone," explained Knutsson, referencing the small orange dot that appears in the upper right corner of an iPhone screen.
"So if you're not on a call or you're not on FaceTime, or you're not using an app where you're actively talking through it, I would say you'd better check this list," he continued. "Also, if your phone ever has malware, which they do, even iPhones, scammers are listening to you, period. So how do you get rid of them? You just constantly look through this list."
