What can i do to verify my smart speaker isn't listening to me?

[RichardS]

I’ve started noticing ads that are clearly based on private conversations I’ve had in my own home, not from anything I’ve typed into a search or posted online. It’s making me wonder if my smart speaker or phone is listening more than I agreed to, and I’m not sure how to even verify that.

[Andrew14]

I’ve had that same nagging feeling. Sometimes after a private chat at home, an ad about the exact topic pops up later. Then I remind myself maybe it’s just retargeting or random coincidence.

[FrankGM]

I did skim through the app permissions once and turned off mic access where I could, and it didn’t make the ads vanish. It felt more like a stubborn pattern than a clear fix.

[BrandonM]

A coworker swears it’s not listening, just signals from things you already looked at or talked about on other devices. It made me pause because it’s hard to tell what’s real.

[EleanorM]

Do you think it’s actually listening, or could there be another explanation?

[Donald.T]

I tried one tiny test by avoiding obvious keywords and still got a related ad, which made me doubt the listening idea but not sure what to trust.