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This in spite of deliberately disabling the microphone for all apps?
Hundreds of privacy-invading apps using ultrasonic sounds to track you
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Posts : 39,945 Win 7 32, Win 7 64 Pro, Win 8.1 64 Pro, Win 10 64 Education Edition, Win 11 Pro Thread StarterNew #2
The article says you can't be sure if the app is listening or not unless it asks. Probably the best bet is disabling the mic for all apps, that is provided the app actually does as told & doesn't override that setting. It could be written into the EULA that you agree to this type of tracking by using the app.
For one, it's not immediately known if an app contains this ad-tracking technology -- but if it asks for your microphone, that might be a dead giveaway.It's not as easy to know if an app has the ultrasonic technology built-in, but it's always wise to check your app permissions. If there's no reason for an app, like a game or a news app, to have access to your microphone, switch it off.
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Hundreds of privacy-invading apps using ultrasonic sounds to track you
Posted: 04 May 2017
Gotta admit, pretty damn interesting/inventive....and scary.
Hundreds of privacy-invading apps are using ultrasonic sounds to track you | ZDNetA new privacy-busting technique that tracks consumers through the use of ultrasonic tones may have once sounded like the stuff of science fiction novels, but today it's reality.
These near-silent tones can't be picked up by the human ear, but there are apps in your phone that are always listening for them. This technology is called ultrasonic cross-device tracking, and it works by emitting high-frequency tones in advertisements and billboards, web pages, and across brick-and-mortar retail outlets or sports stadiums.
Apps with access to your phone's microphone can pick up these tones and build up a profile about what you've seen, where, and in some cases even the websites you've visited.
The technology is still in its infancy, but it's growing in popularity.
In the past year, researchers found 234 Android apps that include the ability to listen for ultrasonic tones "without the user's knowledge," one paper said.
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