Jason Hanson: three apps that are listening to your conversations

Jason Hanson (self-identified "former CIA officer") warns that everyday apps can eavesdrop and that you should change how you use phones. He names three common, high-risk app categories: 'grocery store app', 'flashlight app', and 'certain Bible apps', explains why each is attractive to data harvesters, and gives practical countermeasures.

• Grocery store apps (examples cited: Target, Safeway, Giant, Walmart, Publix, Windixie, Kroger): Hanson says these apps collect detailed shopping data and can sell it to third parties, including insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, making them a direct privacy risk because they reveal habits and health indicators.

• Flashlight apps: Hanson calls most downloaded flashlight apps 'scams' because they often request unnecessary permissions (notably microphone access). He describes them as Trojan horses that can 'listen' and then monetize or misuse that audio/data.

• Certain Bible apps: Hanson—who states he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and reads scriptures nightly—says criminals weaponize fake Bible apps because Christians are likely to download them. He advises verifying legitimacy beyond storefront reviews, since reviews can be fabricated.

Hanson argues the root problem is operating systems: he claims both Google and Apple phones are effectively 'designed for surveillance', which lets apps exploit users. His primary technical mitigation is a device he calls the 'ghost phone' that runs 'graphene OS' on a 'Pixel 7A' (a de-Googled, permission-controlling OS). He also keeps a flip phone for low-risk use.

Practical steps Hanson recommends: avoid grocery-store apps when possible; delete flashlight apps and any calculator/utility apps that request odd permissions; vet Bible apps carefully; audit app permissions at least every six months; delete apps you do not need. He frames these steps as reducing attack surface and avoiding long recovery from hacks.

Hanson's closing tone: personal, faith-stated, and precautionary—he signs off as Jason Hanson and urges listeners to protect privacy so they 'may not get hacked.'