Recently, a photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu circulated widely on social media. In the image, his phone camera appears to be covered with tape. For many people, it raised a familiar question: Are our phones listening to us? Are they watching us? The concern is not just limited to this question but is even more extensive. It lies in the scale of data collection that defines the modern digital age.

Today, companies such as Meta, Google, and TikTok collect vast amounts of behavioural data, including our location information, search history, viewing habits, social connections, and what is known as metadata, meaning patterns of communication such as who interacts with whom and how often.

Even when users are not actively posting, their digital traces continue to accumulate. That’s one of the reasons we often hear people say that whatever they discuss starts showing up in their feeds. And we also experience it ourselves.

At the same time, data breaches have become routine. Government databases, healthcare systems, commercial platforms, and even military........

© The Friday Times