People report receiving ads on their mobile device that are seemingly related to previous offline conversations (i.e., conversation-related advertising). They may think that this is because their electronic devices are eavesdropping (i.e., e-eavesdropping). To gain insights into the scope and characteristics of conversation-related advertising and e-eavesdropping beliefs, we conducted a survey in the United States ( n = 300), the Netherlands ( n = 293), and Poland ( n = 293). These countries were chosen based on their differences in privacy regulations and history with state surveillance. We find that belief in conversation-related advertising is a widespread cross-country phenomenon, which is higher in the United States compared with European countries. In addition, between half and two-thirds of respondents believe e-eavesdropping is a likely explanation for it. We find that social media is a main contributing factor through which people hear about and most often see conversation-related advertising. Moreover, in response to such advertising, respondents experience more negative than positive affect. The results show that this is a prevalent and timely phenomenon that warrants more research. This carries implications for the (social) media industry and regulators, as it highlights the importance of transparency and (insufficient) individual understanding of data collection and processing.

中文翻译：

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与对话相关的广告和电子窃听：绘制美国、荷兰和波兰对手机监听广告的感知


用户报告说，他们在移动设备上收到了看似与之前的线下对话相关的广告（即与对话相关的广告）。他们可能会认为这是因为他们的电子设备在窃听（即电子窃听）。为了深入了解与对话相关的广告和电子窃听信念的范围和特征，我们在美国 （n = 300）、荷兰 （n = 293） 和波兰 （n = 293） 进行了一项调查。这些国家是根据它们在隐私法规和国家监控历史方面的差异来选择的。我们发现，对对话相关广告的置信度是一种普遍的跨国现象，与欧洲国家相比，美国的置信度更高。此外，一半到三分之二的受访者认为电子窃听可能是一种解释。我们发现，社交媒体是人们听到并最常看到与对话相关的广告的主要促成因素。此外，作为对此类广告的回应，受访者感受到的负面影响多于积极影响。结果表明，这是一个普遍且及时的现象，值得进行更多研究。这对（社交媒体）媒体行业和监管机构产生了影响，因为它凸显了透明度的重要性以及个人对数据收集和处理的（不足）理解。