What we and McAfee are saying though is the data collection goes beyond that.

Think of your phone as a device that is listening to you and sending that data to collectors - whether you have it turned on or not.

Think of your phone that is sending data about your location to collectors - whether you have it turned on or not.

Think of your phone as a device that has a camera on it that could be visually recording you and sending that data to collectors - whether you have it turned on or not.

Seems really crazy, doesn't it? Why would they do that? Why would anyone care about getting that stuff from you?

It's not you they're after right now - and right now might not be when they're after you.

But because the phones we keep with us (even turned off) have the capabilities I've listed - anytime "the bad guys" want data on the people they ARE interested in - They already have it.

So when are they going to be interested in you?

As long as you have a phone near you or with you - It very much does not matter if you use it for shopping or use it for social media.

The phone could be turned off and sitting in a different room from you.

It is still capable of sending your GPS data.

It is still capable of hearing your conversations.

It is still capable of recording you with it's camera.

What you do on the phone does not matter.

It's the fact that you HAVE the phone with you.

This is what you must be aware of, or you are living with a false sense of control.