What we have to deal with is creeping normalisation.

The majority of the human population using the internet seem to have accepted being grouped into buckets by cookies and targeted with very specific adverts .. from there it's a short hop to public space { facial | phone | device } recognition and targeted adverts.

I read once that it’s an accessibility requirement that the screens can be muted.

I haven’t encountered a screen that I couldn’t mute in the last 10+ years.

(I was gonna say something about “brute-forcing” it but I know how that might be misinterpreted. Just try all the buttons, if necessary.)

I start with the buttons on the right, because I am right handed and that's easier for me. I start with the top button and work to the bottom.

If silence has not yet been achieved, then I do the same with the buttons on the left.

If silence has still not yet been achieved, then I make a mental note to never give that location any money ever again. (It's a short list, and the irritation makes it very easy to remember each location whether I want to or not.)

(I don't worry about how "brute forcing" might be interpreted. I am doing nothing wrong.)