Pegasus isn't required !

I have been using an Elliptical Exercise bike to do my daily exercise for keeping myself physically fit. The machine has served me for over 10 years albeit with periodic servicing by the maker's service personnel as also by my own small attempts at good upkeep of the gadget. I told my wife that we needed to replace it with a new one. I started to look for the replacement. Search for it began in right earnest, in online stores like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal etc. Surprisingly, when I opened any of those online apps, I didn't have to search for elliptical bike, as even without my effort, the page opened displaying info on it. My Facebook page also displayed ads of excerbikes. I noticed that Google Chrome, YouTube, Facebook or almost any other site opened always displayed info (or Ads) just about anything I conversed with anyone in the vicinity of my mobile. The smartphone seemed to read your mind and tailor made responses appeared on it, the next time you opened it!

In a mobile call with a friend, we spoke about Andamans as a holiday plan. Less than a minute later, I saw a post on my Facebook about holiday plans in Andamans. I also began to see ads about hotels, cars and jeeps for hire, air and sea travel etc. There have been similar instances which have happened to several other people as well. For those who want proof for all these, it is all there already in their mobiles. They just need to open their smartphones. Anytime you try to shop online for anything, once you log into your Facebook account or log on to other sites, you would immediately see similar ads about those items you’ve just looked at or purchased. Try it and see for yourself. Look out for the ads and you will see just how quickly you are targeted by these websites and apps.

How To Stop It.

In the event that you do not want your phone or apps listening in on your private conversations, there are some things you can do to stop it. The first thing you need to do is go to your phone settings, then application manager and look for any particular app there. Once you find an app such as Facebook, click on it and scroll down to permissions. It is here that you will see exactly what permissions the app is requesting and you have granted it. Look for any that allow the app to use your microphone, camera, contacts list etc. Disable it or do not give it permission to do so and close the app.

While it is true that cellular phones, tablets and other devices are very useful and help make our lives easier, they can also be used as tools to spy on us (am I sounding like an opposition leader on Pegasus?) Always be on your guard when downloading apps or sites which ask for too many permissions and access in your gadget or device.

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Anecdotes & memories of a sales guy

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