Connect with us

Technology

Is Google listening? Check your account history now

Published

on

Is Google listening? Check your account history now

Some of us are more paranoid than others about what our phones are listening to and what they do with that information.

We’re giving away a $799 iPhone 15. Enter to win now!

Advertisers and data brokers know so much about you … They don’t need to listen to discover your secrets. Still, you better believe it’s happening.

Worry not. I’m looking out for your security and privacy — because we all know Big Tech companies aren’t.

TRAVEL SEASON IS HERE: 7 TIPS AND TRICKS FROM A TECH AND TRAVELING PRO

Advertisement

I feel like somebody’s watchin’ me

A hidden feature in your Google account is snatching up audio recordings from your web and app activity, interactions with digital assistants, and more.

Google says they’re only listening in for commands and to boost marketing efforts. But this breach of your privacy could lead to way more significant problems.

If a cybercriminal hacks into your Google account or smart devices, they can get their hands on your stored audio and voice data — and it’s all downhill from there. We’re talking about AI voice clones that can gain access to your sensitive accounts, scam your loved ones, or worse.

Google’s audio recording features leave open some grave privacy concerns. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Advertisement

Luckily, there’s a way you can stop the madness. Here’s how to block Google from eavesdropping. 

Digital earmuffs

Google is smart, but you’re smarter. Follow these steps to protect your privacy. It’s easy on your phone:

  • Open the Google app on your smartphone.
  • Click Manage Your Google Account and select the Data and Privacy tab, then scroll to History Settings.
  • Select Web & App activity. You may notice a blue checkmark next to the voice and audio activity setting. Uncheck it. 

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Now, like magic, audio recordings from your interactions with Google Search, Assistant and Maps aren’t saved to your Google account. They won’t get saved on Google’s servers, either. Phew.

However, this will not wipe any previously saved audio recordings. You will have to take care of that separately.

Advertisement

Delete one item at a time:

  • Open your Google Account.
  • Click Data and Privacy.
  • Under History Settings, click Web & App Activity.
  • Click Manage activity to review a list of your past activities. Items with a mic icon include a recording.
  • Next to the item you want to delete, select More, then Delete.

Google’s activity management and data privacy settings allow you to delete audio data collected from you. (REUTERS/Neil Hall)

Delete all items at once:

  • Open your Google Account.
  • Click Data and Privacy.
  • Under History Settings, click Web & App Activity.
  • Click Manage activity to review a list of your past activities. Items with a mic icon include a recording.
  • Above your activity, click Delete, then All time. Follow the on-screen instructions.

NOTE: These steps will delete all your web and app activity associated with your Google account, not just items, including a recording.

HANDY HIDDEN FEATURES ON INSTAGRAM, X AND FACEBOOK

Do not disturb

While you’re at it, check for other apps that might be listening in. Let’s start with iPhone:

Advertisement
  • Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
  • On the next screen, review the list of apps. Toggle the switch off to block an app from accessing your mic.

Changing your phone’s settings helps regulate what apps get access to your microphone. (Fox News Digital)

Got an Android? Follow these steps:

  • Swipe down from the top of the screen to go to Settings.
  • Tap the gear icon > Privacy > Permission Manager.
  • Review the list and turn off anything you don’t want using your mic.

Phew. A few minutes of work, and now you can rest a little easier. 

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

Copyright 2024, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Technology

Use this map to find the data centers in your backyard

Published

on

Use this map to find the data centers in your backyard

When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”

Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.

This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”

Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”

Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Technology

Fox News AI Newsletter: Graduation speaker praises AI, gets instantly booed

Published

on

Fox News AI Newsletter: Graduation speaker praises AI, gets instantly booed

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

 

Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:

– UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the ‘next Industrial Revolution’

– OPINION: DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We brought the FBI out of the past and into the AI age

Advertisement

– OpenAI backs creation of global AI governance body led by the U.S. that would include China as a member

TOUGH CROWD: During a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Central Florida, a speaker was met with loud boos from the graduating class after declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next industrial revolution. Fox News Digital reporting captures this tense cultural moment, illustrating the mixed public sentiment and skepticism surrounding AI’s growing footprint in daily life.

A statue on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. (iStock)

BADGE MEETS BYTE: Reflecting on the modernization of national security in a Fox News op-ed, FBI Director Kash Patel explores how the bureau must adapt its strategies to address modern threats and advance beyond the artificial intelligence age.

TECH DIPLOMACY: OpenAI is throwing its support behind the establishment of a new global artificial intelligence governance organization that would be led by the United States while notably including China as a member. Fox News Digital reporting examines the geopolitical dynamics and regulatory implications of this proposed framework as global powers race to set the standards for AI development.

Advertisement

EQUITY ELEVATION: The massive wave of wealth generated by the explosive growth of ChatGPT and the broader AI industry is driving a sudden surge in the San Francisco Bay Area’s luxury real estate market. Fox News Digital reporting breaks down how the influx of new tech capital is reshaping local housing dynamics and fueling a high-end property frenzy.

FBI Director Kash Patel listened as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference at the Department of Justice on April 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

STRATEGY RESET: Tech giant Cisco is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs as the company shifts its primary focus to accelerate its artificial intelligence initiatives, a move that comes despite the company beating earnings expectations. Fox News Digital reporting details the corporate restructuring and broader economic trends pushing legacy tech firms to aggressively pivot toward AI.

ROAD HAZARD: Waymo is issuing a sweeping recall of its autonomous vehicle fleet following a concerning incident that highlighted significant safety issues with the self-driving technology. Fox News Digital reporting outlines the specifics of the recall, the nature of the safety flaw, and what this setback means for the future of fully autonomous transportation on public roads.

BOTS IN THE BAY: A newly developed, artificial intelligence-powered robot has been engineered to seamlessly change and balance vehicle tires without human intervention. Fox News Digital reporting showcases this latest innovation, exploring how automation and AI mechanics could soon revolutionize the automotive service and repair industry.

Advertisement

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

 

FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Twitter

Advertisement

LinkedIn

SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS

Fox News First

Fox News Opinion

Fox News Lifestyle

Fox News Health

Advertisement

DOWNLOAD OUR APPS

Fox News

FOX Business

Fox Weather

Fox Sports

Tubi

Advertisement

WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE

Fox News Go

STREAM FOX NATION

Fox Nation

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here.

Continue Reading

Technology

Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

Published

on

Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what’s in your tabs, compare the products you’re looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.

In its announcement, Microsoft says you can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.” The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these agentic capabilities into its “Browse with Copilot” tool.

Several other AI features are coming to Edge, including an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode that can turn the article you’re looking at into a study session or interactive quiz. There’s a new tool that turns your tabs into AI-powered podcasts as well, similar to what you’d find on NotebookLM, and an AI writing assistant that will pop up when you start entering text on a webpage.

You can also give Copilot permission to access your browsing history to provide more “relevant, high-quality answers,” according to Microsoft. Copilot in Edge on desktop and mobile will come with “long-term memory” as well, which can tailor its responses based on your previous conversations. And, when you open up a new tab, you’ll see a redesigned page that combines chat, search, and web navigation, along with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize your browsing history into categories that you can revisit.

Meanwhile, an update to Edge’s mobile app will allow you to share your screen with Copilot and talk through the questions about what you’re seeing. Microsoft says you’ll see “clear visual cues” when Copilot is active, “so you know when it’s taking an action, helping, listening, or viewing.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending