Facebook denies using phone mics to eavesdrop

Says it shows ads based on people’s interests, not what they’re talking out loud about

Days after reports emerged that social media giant Facebook uses smartphones to gather data on what people are talking about to show relevant ads, the company has finally responded.

Rejecting the allegations levied by Professor Kelli Burns of University of South Florida that Facebook is eavesdropping on your conversations, the company said, “Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed”.

Facebook clarified it does not listen to people’s conversations in order to show them relevant ads, rather it shows people ads based on people’s interest. “This is not true. We show ads based on people’s interests and other profile information – not what you’re talking out loud about,” said Facebook.



Explaining when it accesses your smartphone’s microphone, Facebook said, “We only access your microphone if you have given our app permission and if you are actively using a specific feature that requires audio. This might include recording a video or using an optional feature we introduced two years ago to include music or other audio in your status updates.”

Earlier, Burns had alleged that “Facebook could be eavesdropping on people’s conversations all of the time.”



Facebook has conceded that its app does listen to whatever is happening around it, but only as a way of seeing what people are listening to or watching and suggesting that they post about it – and not otherwise.

However, Professor Burns concludes that the tool appears to be using the audio it gathers not simply to help out users, but might actually be doing so to listen in to discussions.

She added that in order to test her theory, she discussed certain topics around the phone and then found that the site appeared to show relevant ads.

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