Is my MIL highly intuitive or listening in somehow?

[Anonymous]

How often does your husband talk to his mother?
I remember when I was a teenager I would say an offhanded comment to my father (like how I tried Cambodian food) and then when I talk to my grandmother she would mention the same thing (that she loves Cambodian food). It seems that my father would talk to his mother about everything I was doing. It became annoying enough that I avoided talking to him at one point. He of course denied that he talked about me to his mother.

[Anonymous]

I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

[Anonymous]

Is she adept with technology?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

And you think that your MIL is the problem here? 🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

And you think that your MIL is the problem here? 🤔

NP here. Most people have affairs. If it's not you, than statistically it's your partner. Numbers don't lie. Cute you think you're immune.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhhh, didn't you all see that Brady Bunch episode where Peter was listening in and recording conversations? To solve the problem, you need to start fake-planning a surprise party for your MIL, so she'll show up in nice clothes at a non-party and be humiliated.

Or say there’s a talent scout coming to discover the new Shirley Temple when really it’s just a client for your architect husband. 😂

[Anonymous]

Does she live with you and connect her phone / tablet to your wife or do you connect to her wife when you visit?

My SIL has anew baby and my other SIL is a fan of a very specific type of boot camp workout / nutrition. When I shared a beach house with them last summer all of my Facebook, Google and YouTube ads changed because we were all sharing the same Wi-Fi.
My husband has also had the experience of getting ads for things I am buying him for his birthday because I’ve been searching it on the internet of our shared WiFi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she live with you and connect her phone / tablet to your wife or do you connect to her wife when you visit?

My SIL has anew baby and my other SIL is a fan of a very specific type of boot camp workout / nutrition. When I shared a beach house with them last summer all of my Facebook, Google and YouTube ads changed because we were all sharing the same Wi-Fi.
My husband has also had the experience of getting ads for things I am buying him for his birthday because I’ve been searching it on the internet of our shared WiFi.

Wife = WiFi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

And you think that your MIL is the problem here? 🤔

Way to get a burn in on someone sharing the details of their life to help a stranger. Must have made your day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always wondered but thought myself insane for thinking my MIL was somehow listening in to DD and my household conversations. I’ve never mentioned it to anyone and instead made it this quite game I played with myself because, it’s insane, right?

But my tween DD came up to me today and out of nowhere said mom, I think grandma is secretly listening to our conversations. I guess she had her own experience! We were in her room and she randomly mentioned something off the wall and obscure to me. When she later visited her grandma, grandma mentioned the random and obscure thing. (Along the lines of ‘I just saw a TikTok of black Nike socks with a green Swoosh. I’d like those.’) She said she had noticed before that her grandma always seems to know things we discuss, almost like she was listening.

I don’t know how to respond but now I’m sort of freaking out. Could she have bugged something? Is there an app she could have installed on her iPad? I sound totally insane but this doesn’t make sense otherwise, does it?

I swear I think my au pair has m bugged it’s insane but she always makes comments about things I’ve recently discussed with others, not her

[Anonymous]

Isn't the obvious answer here that your husband talks with his mom and tells her what is going on in your life in the course of normal conversation?

[Anonymous]

OP- I think there's some kind of device you can buy that "scans" your house for other devices. I know I'm not using the right language here. I've seen it mentioned in a girls' travel group I am part of for the purpose of scanning AirBnbs you stay in for cameras/recording devices.

[Anonymous]

https://spycentre.com/collections/bug-detectors?gclid=Cj0KCQjw852XBhC6ARIsAJsFPN2PDvk-5qurTHQzopo3PhlIWg8NuQzTdzZ48Nv4ssu2vHWas0iqgm4aAn41EALw_wcB

apparently they're called bug detectors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

And you think that your MIL is the problem here? 🤔

NP here. Most people have affairs. If it's not you, than statistically it's your partner. Numbers don't lie. Cute you think you're immune.

"NP"
"Most people"

Sure, Jan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think my MIL is intuitive (and also kind of nutty). Several years when DH had an affair and we were fighting in the aftermath, we strategized how to deal with her pre-planned visit by saying we were fighting over money or something. She basically immediately walked in our house and announced that we weren't allowed to get a divorce, which was ironic coming from a twice-divorced person. But as far as I know neither of us had given anything away about what was going on. But then, my MIL is also supposedly visited by talking angels and demons, so half the stuff she says is just plain crazy.

Do you have an Alexa device or anything like that in teen's room? Could someone have logged into the account on a device at MIL's so she can access it?

This has some good tips. An actual bug would need a power source and internet. Seems unlikely even a motivated elderly eavesdropper would be able to hide that somewhere you wouldn't notice. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-sweep-for-bugs/

And you think that your MIL is the problem here? 🤔

Way to get a burn in on someone sharing the details of their life to help a stranger. Must have made your day!

Pot, meet kettle.