Your phone knows you're sad (B1/B2)

Warmer

Your phone already knows some of these. Tick the ones you think it could work out about you today:

where you slept [ ]

who you argued with [ ]

your mood right now [ ]

a secret you've told no one [ ]

what you'll buy next [ ]

if you're falling in love [ ]

How could it know? Voice? Typing speed? Searches? What you linger on?

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Vocabulary

Match the words with the definitions:

1. to detect

2. consent

3. an algorithm

4. vulnerable

5. to target

a. permission, freely given

b. easy to hurt or influence

c. to notice or discover something

d. to aim something at a particular person

e. the set of rules a computer follows

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Use three of the five words in one sentence about your own phone.

Read the article. Which three uses of emotion-detection does it mention beyond advertising?

Advertisers know when you're heartbroken

An advertising group has apologised after leaked documents showed it offering clients the ability to reach users at "moments of emotional openness" — identified, among other signals, by late-night scrolling, sad-song playlists and recently deleted couple photos. One slide suggested ice cream and budget flights sell best "within 72 hours of a breakup."

The company insists no private messages were read. "We detect patterns, not secrets," said a spokesperson. Critics were unimpressed. "They built a heartbreak detector and sold it," said one privacy campaigner.

"If a stranger followed you around noting when you looked tearful, we would call the police."

Emotion-detection is spreading fast: cars that notice driver frustration, call centres that score customer anger in real time, and job-interview software that reads "confidence" from candidates' faces — a use now banned in several countries after studies showed the software reads some faces better than others.

A teenage user was unbothered, then suddenly not. "I don't care if it knows I'm sad," she said. "I care if it decides what to do about it."

Comprehension

discussion

Answer these questions:

1. What signals suggested a user had just had a breakup?

2. What is the company's defence — and the campaigner's answer to it?

3. Why was the interview software banned in some countries?

1. Is "we detect patterns, not secrets" a real distinction, or a lawyer's sentence?

2. Which of the three other uses (cars, call centres, interviews) bothers you most?

3. Would you have been the teenager's age before you cared? Are you her age now?

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Language: feelings

Complete the feelings expressions with these verbs:

burst / bottle / put / lose / cheer / get

1) She _______ into tears in the meeting.

2) Don't _______ it all up — talk to someone.

3) He never _______ his temper. Never. It's unnatural.

4) I couldn't _______ my feelings into words.

5) Let's go out and _______ you up.

6) It takes me days to _______ over an argument.

What would you say?

Your friend sends you this message. Work in pairs. How would you respons to this?

ok don't laugh but my wellbeing app just told me I've been 'showing signs of low mood' for 2 weeks and suggested I talk to someone?? it wasn't wrong tbh. but also... my phone noticed before my boyfriend did. before I did?? not sure if I'm grateful or completely freaked out

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Now the harder version: the same alert went to her employer's wellness dashboard. Redraft your reply.

Your call

Work in small groups. Helpful or creepy? Decide for each — and find the exact point where your group's answer flips:

1. Your car refuses to start because your voice suggests you have been drinking.

2. A wellbeing app notices two weeks of low mood and quietly suggests you talk to someone.

3. The same app notifies your emergency contact. — Your doctor. — Your employer.

4. A supermarket offers you chocolate discounts on days its app thinks you are sad.

5. A dating app hides your profile on days it judges you "too emotional to make good choices."

6. Parents receive an alert when their teenager's typing patterns suggest distress.

7. Insurance gets cheaper if you share your mood data — and dearer if you refuse.

8. A school's software flags "at-risk" students to counsellors based on patterns in their essays. Two are helped in time. One is wrongly flagged and never forgets the meeting.

Homework

Write the one-paragraph privacy policy you would actually want your phone to follow. Begin:

"My phone may notice, but..."

"I don't care if it knows I'm sad. I care if it decides what to do about it." Where exactly is her line? Where is yours — and who is checking it's respected?

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