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I can definitely believe that people think Facebook is spying on them through their microphone, because it's the most obvious answer. Most people don't know any

I can definitely believe that people think Facebook is spying on them through their microphone, because it's the most obvious answer. Most people don't know anything about how tracking works and how Facebook tailor ads to you, but everyone knows how a microphone works. I realize that this was posted on the technology subreddit, but that subreddit reaches an extremely wide audience, most of which certainly doesn't know all the ins-and-outs of the tracking/advertising business.

tedunangst 10y ago
Is it the most obvious answer? 20 years ago, I drank a glass of milk and watched the X Files, and then there was an advertisement for milk. Is the most obvious answer that my TV was watching me?
- c0nducktr 10y ago
  Well, maybe 'obvious' is the wrong term, but there's something different between drinking a glass of milk and seeing a milk ad, and pointing out an Arcadia in a parking lot and telling your friend you liked the car, and then just later that night getting an ad for "2017 GMC Arcadia - Low Financing". The precision is what makes it seem weird, and without an understanding of how a company would target ads to you, the idea that you're being literally listened to by the app, seems possible.
  - coderdude 10y ago
    Coincidences like that happen all the time. Attributing them to spying is a ticket to a level of paranoia that some people have a very hard time finding their way back from. It's healthier to deter them from such lines of thought when there is an absence of evidence that this is something that actually occurs.
    - c0nducktr 10y ago
      Coincidences happen all the time, but targeted ads like those still differ from general audience ads. Just because instead of audio it is spying using metadata and keywords doesn't make seem any less invasive. > Attributing them to spying is a ticket to a level of paranoia that some people have a very hard time finding their way back from. I'll state again that I don't believe FB is actually listening in on phone conversations, but to the majority of their users, they may as well be doing just that. It is all just spying, only using different sources.
      - coderdude 10y ago
        I know what you were saying. I just chimed in with my opinion. It's unexpected to have the reply to your comment not be in opposition to yours. The expectation is that I wanted to undermine your opinion.
- wheelerwj 10y ago
  20 years ago you drank milk because there was a massive Got Milk campaign going on, then you watched X-Files, then you saw ANOTHER milk advertisement. Today, the advertisements aren't about milk, but are about obscure products that eerily match private conversations.
- edblarney 10y ago
  Your TV does not have the ability to watch you. Facebook makes a business of watching you. If it's legal for FB to use the mic while you're not perfectly aware, they will do it. That said, I don't believe they are doing that, but they are using basically every aggressive means available to capture information about you, which they own, and will do as they please with.
- whogotsdawat 10y ago
  No, because it wasn't plausible now, and not just for technology reasons. Because back then it would have been unthinkable. Now it is very, very, incredibly thinkable. Hence the Reddit post.

tedunangst 10y ago

Is it the most obvious answer? 20 years ago, I drank a glass of milk and watched the X Files, and then there was an advertisement for milk. Is the most obvious answer that my TV was watching me?

c0nducktr 10y ago
Well, maybe 'obvious' is the wrong term, but there's something different between drinking a glass of milk and seeing a milk ad, and pointing out an Arcadia in a parking lot and telling your friend you liked the car, and then just later that night getting an ad for "2017 GMC Arcadia - Low Financing". The precision is what makes it seem weird, and without an understanding of how a company would target ads to you, the idea that you're being literally listened to by the app, seems possible.
- coderdude 10y ago
  Coincidences like that happen all the time. Attributing them to spying is a ticket to a level of paranoia that some people have a very hard time finding their way back from. It's healthier to deter them from such lines of thought when there is an absence of evidence that this is something that actually occurs.
  - c0nducktr 10y ago
    Coincidences happen all the time, but targeted ads like those still differ from general audience ads. Just because instead of audio it is spying using metadata and keywords doesn't make seem any less invasive. > Attributing them to spying is a ticket to a level of paranoia that some people have a very hard time finding their way back from. I'll state again that I don't believe FB is actually listening in on phone conversations, but to the majority of their users, they may as well be doing just that. It is all just spying, only using different sources.
    - coderdude 10y ago
      I know what you were saying. I just chimed in with my opinion. It's unexpected to have the reply to your comment not be in opposition to yours. The expectation is that I wanted to undermine your opinion.
wheelerwj 10y ago
20 years ago you drank milk because there was a massive Got Milk campaign going on, then you watched X-Files, then you saw ANOTHER milk advertisement. Today, the advertisements aren't about milk, but are about obscure products that eerily match private conversations.
edblarney 10y ago
Your TV does not have the ability to watch you. Facebook makes a business of watching you. If it's legal for FB to use the mic while you're not perfectly aware, they will do it. That said, I don't believe they are doing that, but they are using basically every aggressive means available to capture information about you, which they own, and will do as they please with.
whogotsdawat 10y ago
No, because it wasn't plausible now, and not just for technology reasons. Because back then it would have been unthinkable. Now it is very, very, incredibly thinkable. Hence the Reddit post.