This latest leak marks the third time in a year that 404 has reported on CMG's shady voice targeting service. Last December, the independent news site not only put a marketing company on blast for boasting about such creepy tech on its podcast, and also revealed the existence of CMG's Active Listening feature.

Together with this latest update to the CMG saga, these stories bolster longstanding suspicions about advertisers using our phones to listen to us.

"We know what you're thinking. Is this even legal?" a since-deleted Cox blog post from November 2023 noted. "It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you. When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included."

Beyond taking a big game, CMG did not cop to how it acquires its alleged voice data, instead saying only that it can identify users who are "ready-to-buy" and create targeted ad lists based on their interests. For this service, the media group that specializes in hyperlocal news charges $100 per day to target folks in a 10-mile radius, and $200 per day to target those in a 20-mile radius.

CMG didn't respond to questions about the story.