Reserve Colonel Ángel Gómez de Ágreda, a Spanish cybersecurity specialist, has warned that everyday mobile phones function as digital Trojan horses by collecting user data to influence personal choices and consumer decisions.
The cybersecurity expert linked widespread data gathering directly to attempts to shape citizen behavior and commercial choices, cautioning that technical app permissions often disguise underlying advertising goals.
Gómez de Ágreda noted that smartphones are accepted by millions of users because of their obvious daily utility. A navigation application that guides a driver to an address also records location coordinates. Similarly, an entertainment application used during a daily commute can gather information regarding a user's personal interests. That coexistence between daily convenience and background data collection forms the core of his warning.
In computer security terminology, a Trojan horse refers to a program or device that appears harmless or beneficial on the surface while carrying hidden functions inside. The concept originates from ancient Greek literature, where Greek soldiers concealed themselves inside a wooden horse to gain entry to the city of Troy. Gómez de Ágreda used the metaphor to describe how modern smartphones gain total access to daily life through convenience while quietly generating data trails that are difficult for users to track from their screens.
Data collection and consumer influence
The warning originated in an interview conducted by host Rubén Sánchez, which was published as an Instagram reel on September 11, 2026. In the written introduction accompanying the conversation, Sánchez framed the discussion around how personal data collection is deployed to influence citizens, paying particular attention to commercial advertising interests.
Instagram, a social media platform owned by Meta Platforms, uses short video posts known as reels to distribute content. During the interview presentation, Sánchez highlighted that the central issue is not merely technical access to hardware, but how collected information is commercialized behind the scenes.
Gómez de Ágreda emphasized that authorizing a specific technical feature on a mobile device does not explain what happens to that data later. While granting an application permission to access a camera or location sensor enables a specific function, it does not reveal the commercial ends for which that information might ultimately be processed.
Distinction between technical access and advertising
The link between user activity and targeted advertising is formally documented by major technology platforms. Google explains in its documentation that personalized advertisements can draw upon user preferences, account details, and online activity. Under this framework, a single web search performed by a user can determine which targeted advertisements appear during subsequent visits to other websites.
Google, a technology company that develops the Android operating system and operates a global advertising network, relies on user activity data to connect advertisers with specific audiences. Gómez de Ágreda pointed out that this advertising mechanism operates without requiring applications to engage in continuous microphone surveillance.
The colonel clarified that microphone permissions are distinct from the advertising utilization of logged user activity. His warning outlines a broader risk of digital dependency and behavioral influence rather than claiming that every smartphone is infected with malicious software. The issue centers on structured tracking rather than widespread malware infections.
On-device data processing versus external transmission
Another crucial distinction involves whether data accessed by an application remains on the local device or is transmitted to external servers. Accessing information locally is technically different from sending that information off the device across the internet.
Apple provides examples of operating system features that access contact lists to personalize local services while retaining all associated data on the physical device. Apple, an American multinational technology firm that manufactures the iPhone, has increasingly emphasized local processing to minimize external data sharing.
Gómez de Ágreda noted that the key evaluation for privacy is identifying precisely what information is processed, where that processing takes place, and which specific applications obtain access to it.
Operating system privacy logs and permission controls
Modern mobile operating systems provide users with a partial view of background data activity through built-in privacy tools. Apple introduced an application privacy report with the release of iOS 15.2. This feature records sensor access and data usage over the preceding seven days, documenting when applications access the camera, location, or microphone, as well as listing external domain connections initiated by app content.
Android devices feature a permission dashboard that records which applications accessed specific hardware permissions and the exact timestamps of those events. Developed by Google, Android allows users to examine application permissions based on historic activity logs. This helps individuals spot unexpected accesses that occurred without their immediate knowledge, although it does not fully explain how third parties process the data afterwards.
Google Play offers another layer of information through its safety section. This feature displays details self-declared by app developers regarding how data is collected, used, and shared. This declaration differs from technical permission lists, reinforcing the fact that inspecting a technical permission does not reveal all the commercial purposes of an application.
Evaluating the true cost of digital convenience
Gómez de Ágreda observed that smartphones accompany individuals through dozens of small decisions throughout every day. The visual framing chosen for the interview highlighted the distance between what users see on their screens and what transpires in background data networks.
Understanding what information leaves a mobile device allows users to evaluate the hidden cost of daily digital convenience, a cost that is rarely measured in traditional currency such as euros.
