I do not grant my phone permission to constantly use its microphone. Unless it is being tampered with, which is beyond my control, the microphone should only be in use when I enable it.

I physically remove the microphones and webcams in my laptops and use a USB microphone with a physical power switch. This is probably unnecessary as, by the same logic as my phone, nobody should have access to these peripherals unless I grant it. But it helps with paranoia. I don't like a camera and microphone pointed at my face constantly.

No way in hell would I buy a device where "always listening" is listed as a feature.