US Government Will Temporarily Take Over All Montana Smartphones

Have you ever stopped to think about life before cell phones? Remember when you would call someone and they were never home? Remember tripping over the telephone cord? (or in my case, the one time I tripped over the "cordless" phone.) It was a completely different world.

Now we have fancy supercomputers, with access to every ounce of human knowledge, simply sitting in our pockets. These fancy gadgets are known as smartphones, and we almost could not survive without them in today's world. But, did you know that your smartphone is also an elaborate tracking device? Not to mention an easy way for apps and even the government to listen in on your conversations.

It is no conspiracy that your phone is listening to you. Your phone is constantly listening to you for verbal commands, to track data, and to deliver targeted advertisements. That is why you always tend to see an ad for something pop up shortly after you talk about it.

Is it legal for your phone to listen to you?

According to Norton Security

Yes, it is legal for phones to listen to you. That’s because we often give consent for phones to listen to us when we accept terms and conditions of software updates or app downloads. Those conditions are usually that we’ll allow our data to be collected so that we can harness all the wonders and conveniences of voice-assisted programs and services.

 

There is a way to turn off your phone's capability to listen in on your conversations. You just simply disable your virtual assistants like "Siri" and also turn off microphone access to applications in your settings.

Now that you are thoroughly paranoid and already constructing your tin foil hat, here is another thing to worry about. The government plans to hijack your phone... But only temporarily.

Can the Federal Government take over my personal smartphone?

The term "take over" seems a little much. But, it is true that the US government is planning to access your phone and every phone in Montana.

On October 4th, the federal government is planning a nationwide EAS test for all smartphones. Much like the same test we perform on the radio airwaves weekly, this test is performed to make sure that all US citizens with consumer cell phones can properly receive alerts in case of a national emergency.

According to FEMA

Beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.

These test messages will also be broadcast on all television and radio as well. So don't be frightened when everyone's phone "dings" at the same time. And everyone in the state stops for a brief moment to look at their phone, or television or turn up the radio.