جوالك يسمعك؟ افحص المايك والإعلانات وسجل مواقعك وبحثكIs Your Phone Listening? Check the Mic, Ad Tracking, Your Location and Search History

Key terms

Microphone permission

The approval you give an app to use the microphone. Without it, the app cannot record sound.

Data brokers

Companies that collect and sell information about people, like emails, interests and purchases, from many sources.

Personalised ads

Ads a platform picks for you based on your searches, browsing, location and online activity.

The orange and green dot

A small dot at the top of the screen that shows an app is using the mic or camera right now. Orange on iPhone, green on Android.

The steps

1. 1

   Step 1

   Know what the FTC actually found

   On 21 May 2026 the FTC announced settlements with Cox Media Group and two partner firms over a product called «Active Listening». It told advertisers it could find buyers from your everyday conversations.

   When the FTC looked inside, no phone or smart device was sending voice data. The product was email lists from data brokers, resold at a markup. CMG agreed to pay $880,000.

   This case does not prove every app is innocent. It proves this product was not listening to anyone.

   Tip: Read the original source before you share it. Headlines exaggerate both ways.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Understand why ads feel like they hear you

   Ads know you from simpler things than sound: what you search, the sites you visit, your location, what people around you search, and data platforms buy from data brokers.

   When you talk about something with a friend, one of you usually searched for it or got close to it online. That is enough for the ad to show up.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Check mic access on iPhone

   Open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Microphone.

   You will see every app that asked for the mic. Turn it off for any app that does not really need it, like a game or a shopping app.

   Watch the orange dot at the top of the screen. If it shows when you are not on a call or recording, open Control Centre to see which app is using the mic.

   support.apple.com

   

   Tip: You can turn the permission back on from the same place any time.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Turn on App Privacy Report on iPhone

   Go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then App Privacy Report, and turn it on.

   After a few days it shows when each app used the mic, camera and location, and which domains it contacted. It is the clearest record of what each app really does.

   support.apple.com

   

5. 5

   Step 5

   Check mic access on Android

   On most Android phones: Settings, then Security & privacy, then Privacy, then Permission manager, then Microphone. Names vary a little by brand, so search Permission manager in Settings if you cannot find it.

   Turn the mic off for any app that does not need it. Watch the green dot at the top and pull down the notifications to see which app is using it.

   The Privacy dashboard in the same menu shows the last 24 hours of mic, camera and location use.

   support.google.com

   

6. 6

   Step 6

   Cut down personalised ads

   On iPhone: Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Apple Advertising, and turn off Personalised Ads. Then in Privacy & Security, Tracking, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track.

   On Google and Android: open myadcenter.google.com and turn off personalised ads. On Android, Settings, then Privacy, then Ads lets you delete your advertising ID.

   Ads will not disappear, but they will follow you less closely.

   support.apple.com

   

7. 7

   Step 7

   Clear the places you have been

   Where you go is one of the strongest things an ad can learn about you: the shops you visit, when, and how often. It tells an advertiser what kind of person you are without hearing a word.

   On iPhone: open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, then System Services, then Significant Locations & Routes, and tap Clear History. Clearing applies to every device signed in to the same Apple Account.

   On Google and Android: open the Timeline section of your Google Account and turn Timeline off with the switch at the top. You can delete all of your history or only parts of it. Timeline is off until you turn it on yourself, and the data can stay on other devices unless you delete all of it.

8. 8

   Step 8

   Clean up your Google search and activity history

   What you search and do on Google is one of the clearest signals of what you care about. The Web & App Activity setting saves your activity on Google products, the ads you click, what you buy on advertiser sites, and details like device type and approximate location.

   To delete activity: open myactivity.google.com, click Delete at the top, then All time, then Next, then Delete.

   To stop saving it: open My Activity settings at myactivity.google.com/myactivity and turn off Web & App Activity.

   To delete automatically: open myaccount.google.com, go to Data & privacy, pick the setting under History settings, click Auto-delete, choose how long to keep it, then Next and Confirm. Screens may look a little different because Google keeps updating them.

   support.google.com

   

9. 9

   Step 9

   Make it a monthly habit

   Once a month, five minutes: open the mic list, check any new app that got access, and read the privacy report.

   Put a calendar reminder on the first of every month and you are done.

   PromptAsk Claude about one app

   Copy

   I have an app called [app name] on [iPhone or Android]. It asks for [mic, camera or location] access. Explain simply: why it might need this permission, what I lose if I turn it off, and whether there is a more private alternative.

Ready prompts to copy

Here is the list of apps with mic access on my phone: [paste the list]. Sort them into three groups: really needs it, needs it sometimes, never needs it. Then tell me which permissions to turn off now.