Why does big tech listen when you're on mute?

In the tech world, big companies make decisions that can sometimes make us scratch our heads. Is it all about engineering? Business strategies? Or are they just keen on scooping up as much data as they can? The truth is, we've stumbled upon some surprising facts about how audio data is collected and sent around, and it's a bit concerning.

Let's face it, when we hit the Mute button on our favorite video call app, we know it's not actually turning off our microphone. After all, if it did, how would the app know to give us a nudge when we start talking while still on mute? The real surprise here is that, even though we're on mute, our sounds are still getting picked up and sent over the internet.

This was discovered by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who found out that audio data is still being transmitted even when video conferencing apps are on mute. While there may not be any evil intent behind this right now, it still opens a lot of doors for privacy issues and ethically questionable activities, especially as all this could be automated and done on a large scale.

Picture this: you have a loud argument at home while on a muted call, and a few minutes later, you see an ad for a divorce lawyer. Or your dog barks, and suddenly you're getting ads for dog food. Crazy, right?

That's where our product, MuteMe, comes in handy. MuteMe not only mutes your audio on the app, but if configured to do so, it also mutes it at the operating system level, controlling audio on both Windows and macOS. This makes sure that your trust in digital platforms isn't misused. Our team at MuteMe is dedicated to finding the sweet spot between your convenience and privacy.

We also believe that companies like Microsoft and Apple should step up their game in securing their audio systems. Wouldn't it be great if the OS could manage the mute function and all apps could stick to a standard that respects users' privacy? It's the dream solution, but until then, if you value your privacy, we suggest using tools like MuteMe.