Why It Feels Like Facebook Is Listening Through Your Mic

[@Differentmedia]

I know they don't listen to you, Duhhh. It's that they read your thoughts...

[@alessandrosalbego8443]

LOL

[@chumloaf]

ZUCCERBERG IS A LIZARD

[@SKRATTheToxickangaroo]

Forrest Stevens I literally talked to my friend about a game on the phone and not 5 mins later it showed on my fb and KZbin ads area

[@DailyRealness]

Pete you ever heard of a coaxial cable, you know as in broad band internet? Guess how they work? That's right they are wrapped in tin foil.

[@DailyRealness]

Well all joking aside guys most of those apps on your smart phones, (if that is what you are using) access your mic and record what you are saying. As soon as you install the apps they pretty much warn you of all the information they steal from you, but being zombie idiots you're ok with it.

[@cloviscareca]

I quit Facebook 1 year ago. I don't miss anything

[@1romancatholic]

You probably have more time and more life! Good move! I hope more leave it. It’s like a drug to many.

[@DrumApe]

same

[@naufaldbei4234]

probably missed a lot of memes

[@Mayank-zk5cr]

I use Google plus no ads

[@ComeOutOfHerMyPeople]

Same here

[@leonbuzza]

Someone make an app where we can sell our data, rather than Facebook selling it and giving us none of the profit.

[@MarcosValera]

There is

[@leonbuzza]

Marcos Valera where’s this?

[@TwoDollarGararge]

Charlie well Facebook is free that's your payment

[@leonbuzza]

ABDULAZIZ ALAHMADI true but imagine the amount of companies that buy data, the only reason why Facebook is one of the most profitable companies in the world is because of selling data, I want a little

[@kutsuro3901]

Charlie Technically you're using their services and you agreed to get your data collected to be sold to third parties. Free services show you ads in return for giving your data that you agreed to be collected.

[@gonzoe123]

This video is 100% wrong. Two weeks ago I was at work looking at a magazine that we were making. I saw a product and started talking about the product with a co-worker, in a factory where we have to wear hearing protection. I never mentioned the manufacturer or model of the product, just features. The next day I started getting ads for the exact product. Never looked it up on my phone or home computer. Never went to a store. Just talked about it. Try to explain that one.

[@Sarelzayeth]

This is total bull. Facebook definitely trialled the use of computer vision and phone microphones to work out consumer habits. They almost certainly used it for a brief period before pulling the plug on it.

[@happyworld1465]

just delete your facebook problem solved

[@conchaquat6277]

happy world I never had a facebook account. My aunt does though..

[@walterwynnchok7474]

happy world Yep!

[@daianmata6016]

happy world , I did! Amen!

[@artcurious807]

Too bad the NSA will simply fill the gap.

[@EagleZtoTheGrave]

TuukkaTheGeek Exactly, and a bunch of businesses use it. The only people who can probably afford to get off Facebook probably are very rich, or very broke.

[@dawnkrausern]

Facebook doesn’t listen to you, how do we know? Because they said so. Famous last words

[@birf8022]

I dunno here’s my really weird example... I really hate Doritos.. I cannot stand the smell and so I never look for them and I never buy them and my friend was eating some next to me the other day and I was explaining to her how I really just cannot stand Doritos and about an hour later I got an ad on instagram for Doritos??? That was definitely not based on my personal search or purchase history

[@TheModernInvestor]

Watch the video of the guy and his wife saying out loud near their computer that they need cat food....have to buy cat food...and must buy cat food ( they dont own a cat ) .....and guess which ad's start to pop up on their facebook pages.... A friend of mine came over one day and started talking about how nice barcelona was, and how nice the weather must be there now in the winter, that evening i had ad's for cheap flights to barcelona and hotel recommendations

[@arturopereziii4822]

The Modern Investor my mom was joking with her co-workers about her boss who doesn't like to show up Half an hour later an ad about absentee bosses. Another time while at work her co worker gave her a recommendation for a delicious restaurant when she got back on her phone she saw an ad for that same location. Both of these instances happened at her office building she never searched up anything about these. Technology is creepy

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

Without further information, we can only conclude your examples are coincidences. How many ads were seen that were NOT for cat food or Barcelona? How many ads were seen for other things they talked about? Every video on KZbin I've seen that tries to prove Facebook is listening doesn't bother to conduct the test scientifically, and doesn't report all the results, only the results that support their hypothesis.

[@internetastronaut4973]

I tried it myself, they do listen your conversations

[@Balticdreams]

A few weeks ago after watching this video I decided to do some tests considering the conglomerate of facebook/whats app/instagram- and the results were seriously shocking- I did some whats app calls and whats app messages with my friend mentioning absurd brands we never googled, liked or had any contact with. We went to instagram and got immediately matching ads. Not one time, this occurred in several run throughs. Please check for yourself, I know just me writing about it isn't convincing.

[@eternalvigilance5697]

Exactly.

[@RyanMonroe0910]

I don't know if it is Facebook or another app that has access to the mic and then shares the data with Facebook but something is up. I've never mentioned anything about forklifts or had a conversation a day in my life about forklifts until the other day I ran into an old coworker who got a new job as a forklift driver but was not certified yet. Few hours later I'm getting ads on Facebook for getting certified as a forklift driver. They may have great algorithms but no way could they have predicted that.

[@ItsMeRhaine]

I swear I was having a conversation with someone and I can’t remember what it was but not even 5 minutes later I got a Facebook notification about it

[@adzyfee2453]

No, they definitely do listen through the microphone. I mentioned a "wifi smart camera" that my dad ordered on his laptop (not connected to my Facebook/phone), and later on an advertisement popped up on Facebook for a WiFi smart camera.

[@jakeofalltradesmusic]

I remember talking to a friend at a Starbucks once about bedbugs. Never searched for it on any device. As soon as I got home and opened Facebook 20 minutes later, there were ads warning me of bedbugs and how to deal with them. How do explain that one?

[@minecraftminertime]

WSJ didn't make this video to explain your story. They aren't defending Facebook. They are just using their knowledge to come up with the best conclusion.

[@wildreams]

Your area has a bed bug problem.

[@officerfarva3666]

There is no limited area for bed bug infestation. Bed bugs exist everywhere.

[@officerfarva3666]

Jacob Kaiser the same thing happened to me. I don’t own dogs but whenever I visit my in laws who do have dogs my apps blow up with ads for dog stuff. Never searched for the stuff nor bought it either. I also did an experiment after watching this where I took cash into stores I don’t shop at and did not use a card of any kind. I bought things I didn’t need or use. I talked about them though. And then there were ads for the things I talked about.

[@jakeofalltradesmusic]

Speaking of being watched all the time, I have been living in China for over a year, and it's almost impossible to go anywhere where a camera can't see you.

[@Thaheadband33]

There are videos of people just talking about things they’ve never purchased and suddenly there are ads for those things.

[@IvansPersonal]

Me: Just finished paying for my lunch at a restaurant in a mall. Google Maps: How was it?

[@Leonvolt28]

That's because of Google location service. At least Google doesn't have that many data leaks like Facebook has.

[@abushuvom]

Facebook Messenger app does listen to mic. Once I was sitting at my office and tolerating mosquito bites at evening. I was discussing it with my colleagues. Some moment later, there was multiple SMS on my phone describing "Do not tolerate mosquito. Buy XX coils at 25% off now" from a local online store. Later I discovered the Messenger app was open on my phone and it was listening to my conversations !!!

[@julianhobrough1290]

If I Gmail something, certain words I use in an email turn up on my KZbin recommended clips. To avoid being tracked by your phone, turning it off is no use, removing the battery is.

[@minecraftminertime]

That doesn't make sense. You can't write an email if your phone is off, anyway. It doesn't matter if you turn your phone off or take out the battery. All that matters is if you write an email. If you write an email on your computer, your phone doesn't matter. You're dumb to think that there's a difference in writing an email if your phone is off or the battery is out.

[@TheNeverposts]

"don't worry, just blindly buy into the hype. What's the worst that could happen? They know what they're doing..." - German bystander, 1933

[@j.p.9522]

"You think the government is disappearing all the Jews? We're at war, they've got better things to worry about!"

[@TheNeverposts]

"Oh so, the Reich spend all their time and resources systematically mass murdering people for no good reason, yea, I believe that, Hans... Fake News! Just do as you're told and don't ask questions."

[@IIIxwaveIII]

BS, they do listen. try talking about an EXISTING product you dont need or care about. it will find its way as an advertisement on FB soon enough

[@chicospaintingco]

exactly

[@wigwam5409]

Her sources include "facebook told me" and "experts including facebook employees" Real hard-hitting journalism.

[@axelsolhall5830]

First of all I never gotten ads for underwear. But one month ago when I was on vacation with my parents, this microphone spying thing happened to me. We had been in Bangkok for a a couple of days when my mother asked me if I needed to buy something, to which I replied I needed more underwear. My phone was in my pocket or in my hand, I didn't think of it at the time so I don't remember. Then, two hours later, I got my first ad for men underwear, in what I think was ever. I got the ad on Google Chrome for iPhone and I do not have the Facebook app installed.

[@styromaniac6967]

It wasn't AdSense? Google does this too. So in this case I'll have to skeptical of the who being Facebook. It was Google for sure.

[@sanjitpatel86]

Ask any IT guy and you would know how evil FB is. I stopped using FB couple years ago exactly for this reason, because magically I was seeing my interests appearing in feed and I knew something wasn't right. For me privacy is more important than I being able to tell people which restaurant I had my dinner at or what I've been doing over the weekend. If I need to contact my friend/family, I prefer old fashioned text message and/or a quick call.

[@zaccds]

Okay then explain this. One time a friend and I were talking about going to see a perfect circle in concert. Shortly after that conversation I boot up Facebook and what pops up? An add for the exact show we were talking about. I never followed them online or looked up concert tickets in general but yet get an add for it.

[@wegsteryt5524]

spoke about a very specific 3d printer with a specific configuration, my dad then got a ad for that exact printer.

[@doctorratinho]

Yesterday I drove past a combine harvester working away in a field. I pointed it out to my friends because they were singing that combine harvester song as a joke earlier in the day. They then started singing the song again. Today, I’ve got a recommended story about guys working with a combine harvester. I‘vê never looked up anything to do with farm machinery

[@jaredberry1213]

Ive seen too many independent actual events that could only been accomplished through audio. Like when my friend and I talked by the grill about my search for a website domain name. He not having looked online for a domain names suddenly gets an ad that night after the grill out. You tell me.

[@aaron___6014]

I yelling about how my mom worked at Wendy's earlier today and now Facebook presents an ad for Wendy's. I've not mentioned or searched Wendy's in years. I don't buy it. I just started talking about another company that makes things for your wrist we'll see if the ads appear.

[@joebanks9529]

Don't use social media. All problems solved.

[@samkeyho4200]

Evertime i watch something on youtube, next moment you will see an ad relating to what i have just watched on youtube. So, facebook tracks everything that you browse on the internet! Simple.

[@ayushsaxena419]

Stopped using Facebook in 2013...I feel so relieved when things like this and Cambridge Analytica comes up.

[@rr7firefly]

All of those "Take our survey" requests or "Sign up for our discount card" exhortations at the cash register are designed to profile you and your habits. Easy enough to know that.

[@andylynch2223]

No, I have three examples. A friend showed me a picture of a bike on his phone and the next day I was getting ads for that bike.My son in law talked about getting a trail camera and well the next day there it was a game trail camera ad. So I'm not believing your Facebook isn't listning charade. I took facebook off my phone.

[@simplysallow]

Facebook just gave me an ad that I only thought of in my head. I was also talking about dog collars and boom 16 different ads for dog collars.

[@kanorcubes329]

Don't believe this, I paid cash in a drug store with no business card. I wasn't carrying my phone at the time. When I got home I mentioned it, and voila I got ads for the exact brand and product. But mainstream media won't tell you that

[@crazieeez]

The best is delete facebook and not use it. There's no value in it. And I don't know what Facebook does anymore ... it is more like a pile of coupons newsfeed like retailmenot.

[@samkeyho4200]

Almost all apps will not allow you to login unless you agree to terms and conditions. In short : YOU GIVE ME YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATIONS, OR, STAY OUT OF MY APP!

[@minecraftminertime]

That's not why terms and conditions exist. Terms and conditions exist so people can't legally do things that are bad for the company selling them or be able to easily sue companies for petty reasons.

[@rocksor83]

They absolutely are listening... I have mentioned the names of certain countries only in conversation and have received targeted tourism advertisements only one hour later. I performed no searches or any other indicators of interest.

[@LAkadian]

Because they are.

[@Elonmustard675]

They don't send you ads they force it down in your recommendations because whenever you online you may have a 50 to 60 per cent chance you might click on those ads just to be sure

[@djSeakDigital]

In the broader scope, why would you want random ads instead of useful ones cause none of these tips stops information gathering.

[@Jake80007]

I got a duolingo ad

[@LuisCanSkate]

lol wall street defending facebook. just like coke defending mcdonalds about being healthy.

[@minecraftminertime]

Do you know how logic works? The video literally exposed all of Facebook's data collecting methods. The complete opposite would be defending Facebook.

[@walterwynnchok7474]

I stopped going on facebook three years ago.....

[@zachhansen514]

Walter Wynnchok you’re a saint

[@walterwynnchok7474]

Zach Hansen FAKE-BOOK...

[@walterwynnchok7474]

Zach Hansen FACADEBOOK....

[@waterheaterservices]

Walter Wynnchok Fight Book

[@walterwynnchok7474]

Jim Rr Yep!

[@rabbitmoon333]

Easy fix if your pooter settings don't have a setting to prohibit outsiders from turning on your mic or camera....just cover BOTH with something like duct tape that you cannot see through. There's usually only one camera, but can be more than one speaker which is where the mic lives...cover them all.

[@ChristianSchu]

Well, they do. Cox Media Group, one of Facebook’s advertising partners, leaked “active listening” data, showing that they have access to microphone data from phone owners.

[@CommonSense4u]

Advertisement paid by Facebook

[@weareorigin]

Explain why Facebook gave my husband laundry machine ads. He doesn't like those things, and never looked at them on his computer or phone. We discussed it using my computer and thru emails only.

[@Drewcooks24]

WRO they track your every move online through cookies

[@Elonmustard675]

You know what they say. Big brother is always watching

[@TheXuenBox]

It's not "listening" to you but it is tracking you basically the same thing

[@gurmeharbajwa6020]

They know what you like by seeing your search history, as well as stuff you’ve posted online to the public.

[@kimmiddleton951]

None of them are listening to you, and yet all of them know what you were talking about the last time you forgot your phone. Presuming you've ever been out of earshot of yours...

[@shahzaib.q9499]

even if they're not listening through your mic, they still gather your data through different ways, so they're still creepy

[@win7dot]

they are listing to us man.usually in my country we don't have much fancy shops like you mentioned in your video.but still we get those annoying ads.

[@IndoCropCirclesOfficial]

*BIG BROTHER is always listening and watching you*

[@Thanos_Kyriakopoulos]

This video is more alarming than reassuring, because it says Facebook is so clever that it doesn't need to hear you to spy on you, now it can read your lips. what matters is not how we're being monitored, but whether we're being monitored or not, and whether we're manipulated into adopting certain ideas and consuming certain products

[@sanjaisai8418]

Your microphone record everything for fb, Google, NSA, and much more...

[@MenTaLLyMenTaL]

Free apps still have huge operational costs, costs for further research & development; so ads are necessary. Would you rather have irrelevant ads? I think everyone is missing the point that showing relevant ads is actually helping both the consumer & small business find each other. That is the value that Facebook creates.

[@thunderjavelin4478]

people lie and so does the internet.

[@ishouldbesleeping1354]

You Tube just suggested this video! 😱 EARLIER TODAY my son and I were DISCUSSING getting a school loan. We went to eat and 2 hrs later, when I opened my iPad and You Tube...it suggested several videos ABOUT college loans. I have never googled anything about college loans !! HOW did my YOU TUBE know? Google

[@ThatOneScienceGuy]

So how do you explain the video where the couple doesn’t have a cat and they wanted to test to see if FB was listening to them so what they did was merely talk about how they needed cat food around the phone (without doing searches) and voila! Cat food advertisements stared popping up on their FB feed.... And for me, I get the sense that I’m being listened to because stuff I talk about pops up in my Apple News feed. For example, I had a phone conversation with my friend in Hawaii and we talked about the possibility of a visit, and when I checked Apple News there were ads for airfare to Hawaii! I didn’t even search anything, all I did was chat about it with my friend. Also, I was talking about Yellowstone National Park in the living room with a friend and an article about it popped up on news feed. This has happened a couple other times on Apple News. How do you explain that?

[@dan-xxx-8713]

They once ask permission for an update, to use your phones mic....thats realy what the update message asked, "Do we have permission to acces your phones pictures and mic" ?!

[@georgei2480]

honestly id rather have ads for products i might buy show up in my feed vs random things i would never get.

[@thefuckingshittt]

sorry but they don't know me well enough to give me ads on something i talked about 10 minutes ago and like 4 days out of the week. i talked about knitting with my friend and i NEVER EVER HAVE KNITTED or own things knitted and an ad came up for knitting like an hour later. thats not knowing me, thats listening. don't care what anyone says. this happens all the time specially matching what i just talked about.

[@faybeeann8683]

I clicked on this video before i was talking about cat food and then i got a cat food ad for this

[@MeanBeanComedy]

My ad spies aren't listening well ENOUGH. I got an ad for a pee funnel one time. Idk what I talked about to deserve it... But I made a mockumentary about it on my channel lol.

[@misamisamisamisamisamisa]

I've worked in the tech industry before. What they say and what they really do isnt necessarily the same thing.

[@Tha_Monsta88]

Pintrest does this as well but its not through mic. Its through monitoring for device.

[@quinnavan4711]

COM 250: As a Public Interest Activist, this is a concern for me due to privacy issues. Facebook has stated that they do not listen through your devices to depict various ads on your feed due to legal issues. However, the social media platform still uses recent purchases, website engagements, and locations to depict which ads will be shown on your feed. It takes an issue on privacy and protecting your account from unwanted ads. So I would take the advice on this video and turn off your interest based ads and limit what Facebook can retrieve from you. -Quinna Van

[@HR2635]

they do use messenger to listen.. I tested it myself.. the only way they could show me adds like they did 20-30 hours after is if they listened.. I did on purpose talk a lot about something I NEVER ever talk about Horses and training of them.. sure enough.. adds started to pop up. End of story. Uninstalled messenger.. tried again.. no adds.. off course I tried with another subject than horses and training of them to verify it.

[@LaAyla-wl2wm]

FB tracks your cellphone number and your youtube posts. I tried it some months back, I used a totally "white american man" alias and then went around with some fake accounts on youtube making comments like "I'm a black woman" "I'm a Filipino man' "I'm an Israeli teen" etc.....and facebook kept changing not only my friend recommendations, but the language those friend recommendations came in. The one thing used in common on the FB and YT accounts was the cellphone number listed. Be careful what numbers you give out!!

[@tonycallme3667]

oddly enough i've never use Facebook

[@LyteIsCool]

*Idk i still think they listen* I was in the car with my mom and "Gods Plan" came on. Then about 2 hours later my moms facebook has an ad for a tshirt merch company and the picture used were lyrics from that song.

[@danhlavca3157]

Long gone are the good old days of the all mighty physical tv guide subscription.

[@sudore7318]

Me: talks about cookies scrolls down next thing is cookies.

[@le9038]

Well. Ok. Better get my old technical tools ready and problem solved **Removes gps chip and hardware** **Removes microphones hardware and chip** **Removes data collecter** **Removes cookies** **Makes a headphone that has microphone instead of speakers** Problem solved

[@JoshMan3326]

That's not how tech works. LOL.

[@carlynasznic1296]

COM 250: After viewing this video, I think that it relates to the public interest activist. Once understanding how monitoring, tracking, and selling of information to third-party sellers, it makes it easier to believe that Facebook doesn’t listen to us through our phone microphones. I believe that through our recent purchases, data collectors, digital and location history they are able to gather the information needed to “listen” in on what we like and don’t like.

[@cod4787]

I have to admit that I actually find the advertisements useful and helpful because they appeal to my interests.

[@quentinlabeyrie337]

That's a nice video there !

[@alexlafargue9702]

of course it is

[@alexlafargue9702]

stop barking pls

[@ilijazz]

Quick answer to the videotitle. They are

[@minecraftminertime]

Stop trying to spread lies. The video said that Facebook doesn't listen into your microphone. If you want to summarize a video, don't lie in the summary.

[@Designguidetv]

the wording of Facebook seems oddly specific. Would be pretty easy to still do the listening but with a method that let's them get away with it.

[@JoshuaLotion]

What’s wrong with people collecting a data about you? Unless you are some kind of significant person in town, I’d just be happy that i no longer have irrelevant ads

[@markgtv56]

Lies, it say in the app info that most of the app are allowed to turn on your mic or camera without permission.

[@will_lmns]

J'ai bien mangé ce midi

[@N0J0NSS]

chui là prcq c un exo d'anglais

[@jojoh_972]

Même moi ptdr

[@bdprindle]

lol they said theyve gotten so good at tracking you online and offline, so we dont even need to be near microphones???

[@Cristina-vb8dl]

I don't know if they ever used to listen to my conversation, what I know for sure is that they read my WhatsApp messages cause I found advertising on FB after talking about certain topics on WA and found them in my FB homepage without even do any search online before. I have found also a friend suggestion on FB, and had this person only on WhatsApp and never saved she's number in my phone book.

[@mirodoneciprian32]

I was talking to my roommate earlyer about this subject and this video popped up on youtube

[@PcfulSol]

Went on facebook and liked a picture from franchise school i use to work for and went on Instagram and there it was as a sponsored video. Even when my profile is private

[@MichaelOLeary1977]

Cause it is it asked u to allow it to use your mic when u first visited .

[@karinacostello8988]

COM 250: Advertisers are using your location along with purchasing data from stores (loyalty cards). A third party data collector purchases this data from stores and uses Facebook tools to use this offline data to match your personal data. They also gather your locations, IP addresses, and history as well. This is scary as I see many advertisements come up on Facebook as well as other various social medias about things that I've looked up but closed out of, almost enticing me to purchase it. I also find it fascinating that Facebook claims due to legal reasons that they can't listen to phone calls or text messages, as I always thought that they did!

[@tjscott729]

I feel so much happy with my life every since I deleted Facebook I don't even want to get back up there

[@RyanMonroe0910]

The credit card sharing purchase data theory is questionable. I've used company credit cards to purchase things that have nothing to do with my name or any association at all and guess what...... I see the ads.

[@BltchErica]

This is not just Facebook. It's especially strong in Google. While watching a video, if I type in the search bar the beginning of the title I would most likely have the text prediction complete the title. Also the ads.

[@minecraftminertime]

Google's search's autocomplete on the search bar isn't made only by your data collection. Google uses common search phrases to get your answer faster. That's not a privacy breach.

[@jblite9823]

It's true me and my family sat in a room talking about how much we would want a boat we don't live next to water and we have never looked at buying a boat and of course Facebook ads for it

[@na__cho]

This all seems very rational for the US, or other 1st world countries even, but I live in Argentina and these systems for tracking what people buy simply don't exist here, or are very few. I have also received ads about things that I've spoken about but never googled or entered in any website for that matter

[@grandexandi]

The semantics ot that facebook statement seemed suspiciously evasive. Like, "we don't eavesdrop on you FOR ADS, just for other stuff..."

[@ultimatekungfu]

I call bs. They want you to think they’re so smart they can figure it out by location etc. Or the more likely reason is because they have your mic hot 24/7.

[@northbaseuk882]

"conspiracy theorists". The moment you start labelling ordinary people conspiracy theorists is the moment you allow them to get away with anything.