It probably was. Many phone apps do that. If you just accept the install without reading the EULA (or equivalent), you are often giving them access to all kinds of stuff."We" (aka US) was talking about how "they" need to not only know what info we're accessing on the intrawebz, but what sections of that info we're focusing on.
FWIW, my son and I were talking about playing chess recently (no internet search involved) and suddenly when I log onto the interwebz, I'm getting news feeds about chess tournaments. Was the mic on our phones active (when it shouldn't have been)? I'll let you decide.
It's not a conspiracy or spying, as they ask your permission. But who reads EULAs?
