Our phones are stitched into everything we do, and Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 announcement tomorrow will likely tighten that stitch with faster performance, better battery life, a more powerful camera and new software with lots of advanced AI features.
Why would you need any other device when your phone can do it all?
But because so much flows through your phone, so does your data: navigation, photos, payments, searches, messages and check-ins. That concentration of behavior creates a highly descriptive trail, a “ghost profile” of yourself. And ad systems model your behavior: recent searches, location pings, cart abandons, shared accounts and even patterns from people who move like you.
That’s why an ad can land in your feed right after you talked about something. It feels like your phone overheard you, but it didn’t. It’s a prediction from the data you already share.
Read more: No, Your iPhone Isn’t Listening to You. But the Truth Is Even Worse
