People who are not comfortable seeing adverts on their phones for products they have been talking about with freinds and family can now do something to stop it.
Many say conversations they are having about products like the latest flavour of gin or a new toothpaste suddenly apppear as adverts on their social media later on in the day.
Owners of iPhones and Androids have been complaining for a while about being snooped on, but the likes of Facebook and Instagram have always denied they are listening in, reports the Mirror.
According to the Daily Star, social media companies may not be spying but some advertisers certainly are.
Research from NordVPN suggests companies are using data monitoring called ultrasonic cross-device tracking.
They listen to background noise, while of course charging the company for the pleasure.
According to NordVPN, this cross-device tracking method sees apps use ultrasonic 'audio beacons' which can't be heard by the human ear to 'link all the devices you own to track your behaviour and location'.
The high-pitched signals can be hidden in TV adverts or online videos.
Once your device microphone picks them up, it gives advertisers the ability to identify what you've just been watching or talking about.
Different apps can listen for these beacons and this is why some of them ask you for permission to access your microphone.
The issue appears to seemingly be widespread.
The study discovered almost half of people in the UK (45 per cent) claim to have been targeted by such adverts.
Also, 62 per cent of consumers said they have no idea what to do to stop it happening and a further one in eight people said it 'scared' them.
NordVPN's Adrianus Warmenhoven said: "While it's impossible to stop the ultrasonic beacons working, you can reduce the chance of your smartphone listening for them by simply restricting unnecessary permissions you have granted the apps on your device."
To change the permissions apps have, you can go to your phone's Settings menu and look for a 'Privacy' option. Here you should be able to see which apps have access to your microphone and limit it where necessary.
Alternatively, you can use a secure browser or a VPN.
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