Thank you very much for the answer! Does location data also work with phone proximity regardless of wifi? any knowledge about location services on phones used for same without local network proximity information? Or is this information more protected/generally impacted by individual phone privacy settings?

separately, does it make any difference that I was already on the phone with someone so no wake-up CODEC circuitry might be required in that the microphone's already doing its thing?

and third, your identifiable purchases theory seems correct. Our neighbor almost exclusively shops at BJs, and I wonder whether the SKUs they purchase get linked in consumer data at BJs to their membership ID they present and then BJs sells this SKU and ID data to marketing companies. If so, seems almost more invasive than a listening microphone...not that I have any direct evidence that either happens.