For targeted advertising

Watch out! These smart devices are eavesdropping on you

Smart speakers, smartphones, TVs with voice control: in recent years, the industry has equipped more and more once "dumb" devices with an internet connection and microphone.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

You've just been chatting about an expensive purchase and an ad pops up on your cell phone: Online marketing is becoming increasingly creepy for many Internet users. Quite a few feel eavesdropped on by their devices and ask themselves: Are microphones and voice assistants in Internet-enabled devices possibly not only serving their users, but also secretly another master? Krone+ sheds light on the background.

"Imagine a world in which you can read minds!" - The online marketing provider CMG Local Solutions from the USA made headlines with this promise. In a blog post, the company claimed to be ushering in a "new era of advertising" and to have "active listening" technology at its disposal. "By incorporating and analyzing customer data gathered from conversations around smart devices, we can determine exactly where and when customers are most likely to interact with ads," the marketing company said. When the blog post made the rounds in the media, it was hastily deleted. But now the question arises: real eavesdropping or a false advertising promise?