JRE MMA Show #186 with Sean Sharaf · Aired Oct 1, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Smartphones and devices listen to user conversations to generate targeted advertisements.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Phones and apps do collect huge amounts of data about you, which is why ads can feel eerily well timed. But researchers at Northeastern University tested more than 17,000 Android apps and found no app that turned on the microphone or sent out audio without being prompted. A 2024 ad pitch deck claiming 'active listening' got wide coverage, but nobody has shown that phones routinely record conversations to pick ads.
Read the supporting source · gizmodo.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Smartphones and devices listen to user conversations to generate targeted advertisements?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Phones and apps do collect huge amounts of data about you, which is why ads can feel eerily well timed. But researchers at Northeastern University tested more than 17,000 Android apps and found no app that turned on the microphone or sent out audio without being prompted. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on JRE MMA Show #186 with Sean Sharaf, aired Oct 1, 2026, at 2:08:21. The supporting source is gizmodo.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
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- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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