Can your cell phone "eavesdrop" on you? Research shows that your cell phone may be "eavesdropped" on you!

I just finished talking to a friend about something.

The corresponding information will be pushed immediately on the mobile phone

Ads in apps are also extremely targeted

Is this really just a coincidence?

In the era of big data, it is not uncommon to feel that your privacy is being "stolen" anytime and anywhere. However, users usually face the situation that they cannot use the App if they do not agree to the App's information request.

Today we will study:

How do mobile phones achieve accurate push notifications?

What should I do if I cannot use the product if I do not agree to the authorization?

How to protect your personal information?

Mobile phone precise push

The University of Cambridge in the UK conducted a study on similar mobile phone "monitoring" technology and found that mobile phones can indeed be "monitored" .

When people tap on the screen of their mobile phones, sound waves are emitted, and the sound waves emitted are different depending on the tapping position. Our mobile phones have built-in microphones, which can collect and restore these sound waves. Combined with artificial intelligence calculations, they can directly reproduce the information entered by people using the mobile phone keyboard, thereby achieving the purpose of "monitoring".

Experiments have also proven that as long as a mobile phone APP obtains authorization from the phone's microphone and keeps the APP running while connected to the Internet, it is completely possible to "eavesdrop" on the user's conversation and record it without the user noticing . This information is intelligently processed through big data technology to form a user portrait, so that mobile phone APP operators can push accurate data.

After the APP forms a user portrait, it can then “kill the familiar” based on the user’s income level and consumption habits .

Merchants collect information about users’ consumption habits through the background of mobile applications, such as the types of goods they frequently browse, price ranges, shopping histories, etc., and further collect other application information associated with user identity characteristics (such as mobile phone numbers, WeChat, Weibo accounts, etc.), and estimate users’ income levels through bank account financial transactions, text messages, etc., to conduct behavioral modeling, attach “labels” to users, push some products to users in a targeted manner, hide other products, induce users’ consumption choices, and increase prices by a certain amount.

In addition to consumption habits, you can also use geographic location information to "kill the familiar" . Merchants collect users' geographic location information through the mobile application background and conduct real-time analysis. If there are fewer potential competitors near the user's location, they will increase the price by a certain amount. In addition, the user's address, office location, places where they often consume, and other geographic location information can also be used to judge the user's income level and consumption ability, making the "user portrait" more accurate.

In addition, the details of the user's interaction with the mobile application can also be used to "kill the familiar" . The details of the user's interaction with the application, such as the frequency of typing information and searching for keywords, can to a certain extent reflect the urgency of the user's demand for goods or services at that point in time. Some merchants will dynamically increase prices based on this information.

Gradually improving laws and regulations

Nowadays, when we use our mobile phones to download and use an APP, we have to authorize information. Some APPs cannot be logged in and used without consenting to information authorization. What can we do? Don't worry, the relevant laws and regulations are being gradually improved.

In March 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments jointly issued the "Regulations on the Scope of Necessary Personal Information for Common Types of Mobile Internet Applications", which clearly stipulates the scope of collection of personal information by mobile apps for daily use, and stipulates that users have the right to disagree to non-essential authorization of personal information by mobile apps, and APP operators are not allowed to refuse users from using this .

On August 20, the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the "Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", which will come into effect on November 1, 2021.

It clearly prohibits excessive collection of personal information and big data discrimination, regulates the processing of sensitive personal information such as facial information, and improves the complaint and reporting mechanism for personal information protection ... This special law fully responds to social concerns and provides strong legal guarantees for solving hot and difficult issues in personal information protection.

The introduction of the Personal Information Protection Law has, on the one hand, strictly limited the rights of Internet companies. Consent and knowledge are the legal requirements for companies to obtain personal information . At the same time, personal information must be handled clearly and reasonably, and information cannot be used as a basis for differential treatment . The "big data killing familiar" approach will not work. The law also stipulates the penalty standards for illegal use of personal information and privacy disclosure.

How to protect personal information

In addition to the improvement of laws and regulations, we must also consciously protect our personal information in our daily lives.

1. Choose a regular mall

When downloading mobile APPs, you should choose a regular mobile phone mall and reject all APP software pushed by unknown channels . In order to gain profits, some businesses may add plug-ins required by third parties or even viruses to the APP. In the mildest case, it only obtains mobile phone traffic, and in the worst case, it may steal personal privacy information.

2. Cancel unnecessary authorization information

From the perspective of mobile phone APP applications, enabling relevant permissions is to better utilize the functions of the APP and provide convenience for users. For example, an APP that serves as a navigation function needs to obtain mobile phone positioning authorization to help users navigate accurately.

However, many apps require authorization information that has little to do with their main applications . In fact, the phone can be used normally if these useless authorizations are turned off, so users must check the authorization information of the app and cancel unnecessary authorization information.

3. Be cautious when submitting sensitive personal information

When registering personally, try not to use personal information (name, date of birth, etc.) as your user name; if multiple login methods are provided (mobile phone number, Alipay, WeChat, Weibo, email, etc.), it is recommended to choose the login method that uses less personal information; if it is not necessary during the registration process, be cautious when submitting sensitive personal information, such as ID card photos, bank card numbers, etc.

4. Be wary of third-party pages

At present, APPs are characterized by platformization, embedding third-party links, third-party products or services in APPs. When individuals use APPs, if they encounter jumps to products or services provided by third parties, they should be cautious in providing personal information and avoid submitting information unrelated to the service. At the same time, do not easily enable the third-party pages to collect personal information, and do not directly download and install some APPs from unknown sources through third-party links or pages.

5. Unused APP accounts should be cancelled in a timely manner

Individuals should unbind and cancel APP accounts that have not been used for a long time, and then delete the client. When changing mobile phone numbers, various accounts registered with the old mobile phone number should be cancelled. If you find that the APP does not provide an account cancellation function or the cancellation mechanism is ineffective, you can report it to the relevant department.