I'm not paranoid but, how smart are smartphones?

Not smart at all. They're just gathering data you allow it to do (and probably/possibly also not allowed it to do) and the software is then making assumptions base on the info it receives and acting on that. The assumptions the software makes is based on algorithms a human writes and the end effect is pretty much a scatter gun approach.

In the olden days, you would perhaps complete a printed survey and get targeted mailings based on your responses, but what is happening today is you are allowing technology to capture what is in effect a continual survey and hence receiving continual marketing in return. The volume and persistence of adverts and the fact it is relatively cheap compared to the cost of printing & distributing leaflets or employing people to make phone calls, gives the impression of a level of intelligence but it is just due to the raised chances of coincidence.

Also, remember, that if using wifi, all data is usually captured from many devices based on the single outgoing IP address so be careful what you search for ;).
 
I have a Google Pixel, it is always listening and even has a feature that will tell you what song is playing in the background of wherever you are without you even prompting it.
 

Vice lol.

The whole first article is anecdotal. There’s no meat on the bone as usual from that website.

Show me logs, explain them, give me timelines, tell me exactly where you were, what permissions you have enabled on your phone etc. I’d love to read something that does go in depth about these odd incidences.
 
Vice lol.

The whole first article is anecdotal. There’s no meat on the bone as usual from that website.

Show me logs, explain them, give me timelines, tell me exactly where you were, what permissions you have enabled on your phone etc. I’d love to read something that does go in depth about these odd incidences.
They are not particularly technical articles, but they do show what is possible.

I would suggest that if someone was surreptitiously listening to your phone or watching your camera you won't know about it, and you will have been specifically targeted.

However, anything that you search for, photograph, upload/download using your phone is likely to be captured somewhere, even if it's just the metadata, and it will be searchable.
 
Words you say are heard and stored as cookies, then they can bombard you with ads on the things you talk about
 

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