How Siri-ously do you take your Privacy?

Hey there. Are you listening…? Well, your phone is.

Last week I was at a party and talking about the cake, which was made by Nothing Bundt Cakes. Everyone loved it and was talking about how much we loved it. I never once searched it or typed it into an app. Yet low and behold, the next day, I had an advertisement for Nothing Bundt Cake on Instagram. It crept in there like a sponsored post, as if it was part of my normal day-to-day feed. Sneaky, sneaky. Turns out my phone could listen better than normal people!

In order for this feature of vocal scanning to be valid, the user must have a “trigger” such as “Hey Siri” or “Okay Google” on their phone (Nichols, 2018). Location sharing through photos also triggers suggestions. For example, if you’re at a USC game, ads for a local Chipotle may show up on your screen because you were in the area. Sam Nichols (2018) tried an experiment where he started using specific phrases and tracked the posts on his Facebook page; his constant mentions about going back to university and needing new uniforms triggered advertisements for school.

  While typically speaking, companies will sell information to advertisers, this isn’t exactly the case for Facebook, as they’re doing it “backwards”. They bank on a consumer using a specific feature like a location tag or the usage of words, and then they expose the advertiser to that demographic (Nichols, 2018). This information is crucial to advertisers; in fact, in a report from the World Economic Forum, it was said that “personal data represents an emerging asset class, potentially every bit as valuable as other assets such as traded goods, gold, or oil” (Weiss, 2013).

   Advertisers need this information, because it helps to narrow down targeted material. If a user is constantly checking-in to a gym, perhaps they need protein powder. A user visited a website for new cars? Well, maybe it’s time they got directed to a Jeep-specific car dealer. It makes it that much easier for advertisers to narrow down their demographic. Another example is that Google has been known to scan Gmail messages for keywords, and target advertising based off of this (DiMarco, 2014).

   As a user, I can see how this can be beneficial and help me hone in on products that may appeal to me; however, it does come at a price. I’m someone who says that I have nothing to hide, so I have never worried much about my privacy, but I know this isn’t the case for others. And to what extent can/should companies be searching through my private emails or online searches? What happens if I’m searching for something sensitive or secretive? Do I want that to pop up later?

   On the other hand, someone who deals with advertising and marketing, I understand the value of having this information easier to navigate. We know that we’ve already broken down a barrier and gotten closer to reaching a consumer based off of their likes, searches, page visits, or mentions. It doesn’t get much more valuable than that. I’ve even noticed that I’ve had multiple ads for oddly specific focus groups that I clearly fall into; this is information-dense material and so helpful for advertisers! It saves them the time of weeding through groups to find people who meet certain requirements such as age, location, gender, or hobbies. Technology truly is magical.

  When you sign onto these apps, it’s vital that you’re truly reading through the policies if you are worried about your privacy. Last week we spoke about ethics in marketing, so this issue is particularly pertinent. While technically users have chosen to opt-in to these features and give up certain privacy rights to these applications and technological devices, to what extent can we really use them? Are we crossing the line here? Are we taking advantage of the modern user? Well, that’s for you to decide…and your phone to hear.

-Natasha Perera
CMGT 541
Dr. Muthuswamy

Works Cited:

DiMarco, C. (2014). Facebook and zynga avoid wiretapping fines for targeted ad practices. Inside Counsel.Breaking News, Retrieved from http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1523840031?accountid=14749

Nichols, S. (2018, June 04). Your Phone Is Listening and it’s Not Paranoia. Retrieved September 30, 2018, from https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/wjbzzy/your-phone-is-listening-and-its-not-paranoia

Weiss, M. (2013). Friends with Commercial Benefits: Social Media Users Do Not Want Their Likeness Used in Advertisements. Journal of Internet Law, 16(8), 8-15. Retrieved September 30, 2018.