If you have an Alexa device, it’s listening all the time. We think it’s not because the light isn’t on and it doesn’t respond, but it is.
If you use Google Assistant or Siri on your smart phone, they’re both listening all the time. Same as the above, we all assume that they aren’t because there is no response, but that’s by design.
Many other applications are doing this as well. Facebook is another. @Neal’s advice to check your privacy settings is correct, as is @AbdRahim’s advice to check your microphone permissions.
You should always be giving applications the least amount of privileges needed. Very few if any applications need access to your microphone all the time, but that’s the default permission the applications seek and when you grant that permission, it’s not always obvious the scope of permission you’ve granted.
Not having cellular service or even internet service of any kind often does not matter. Modern applications are designed to handle that without you even realizing it. What happens when there is no network connection is that it operates very similar to your dashcam, creating a memory space and continuing to record into that space, overwriting the oldest with the latest when it runs out of space. Then, when eventually you connect to a network and it sees that is has a strong internet connection, it uploads everything it has. You the user are completely oblivious to all of this happening.
Those recordings are analyzed by machine learning algorithms that have gotten very good at processing natural language, understanding various phrases we all say day in and day out, and bucketing them into various categories of things they can use to advertise merchandise, services and whatnot. Essentially, your private conversations are being analyzed and converted into internet searches. The search performers was the phrase you uttered that triggered a categorization. “We need to call Terminix” == “Extermination Services near me”.
You then sign onto your computer and are surprised to see these advertisements for things you never searched for and thought you had a private conversation about in passing with someone else. The truth is, there are no private conversations today. Everything, everywhere is listening, mining, processing and feeding the advertisement machine.
If you will all excuse me for a few moments now, I’m going to go snuggle on my aluminum foil blanket. The tin foil hats were never enough for me.
