5 ms·

Ask HN: Facebook is listening to your conversations

32 points by samblr 10y ago

This happened in last 5 minutes. Was speaking to a friend about Wix website builder. And within a minute in my FB news feed - I see Wix relevant link (link was from techcrunch: http://tcrn.ch/2jdnFeM) The news item is published on Jan 19th i.e 6 days ago! I haven't seen that link in my last week of social media browsing. How did it all of a sudden became relevant ? Freaky!

benologist 10y ago
I read last year accusations some android apps were in trouble for undisclosed listening to identify ads on television, that might be a good starting point for more information, it's technically possible something was listening. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ftc-android-developers-apps-tv-listening-silverpush/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ftc-android-developers-a...
r721 10y ago
This was discussed a lot: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/5k4dn8/im_becoming_scared_of_facebook/ https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/5k4dn8/im_becom... (6086 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13252242 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13252242 (109 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11833718 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11833718 (49 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10360761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10360761 (54 comments)
bsvalley 10y ago
It's from Techcrunch not FB. They use retargeting/remarketing ads and sell this info back to Facebook. A lot of websites do that... It's actually easy to find out what people browse on the web only by looking at their FB news feed. If you see a birth control ad on your girlfriend's FB news feed - run away!
- dangrossman 10y ago
  > If you see a birth control ad on your girlfriend's FB news feed - run away! What?
hbosch 10y ago
I believe this has been discussed before, but it never ceases to amaze my wife and I. We will be talking about, say suddenly needing new Swiffer pads. Face to face conversation, emergent and organic conversation, no prior searches in the last few weeks or anything like that. Then, next time you're scrolling through instagram, there is an Amazon ad for Swiffers.
- DonHopkins 10y ago
  I keep getting ads for plates of shrimp.
  - CamelCaseName 10y ago
    Stop calling people "fooking prawns" then!
  - hbosch 10y ago
    Guess it's just part of the lattice of coincidence.
- samblr 10y ago
  This kind of means: there will be multiple versions of '1984' from multiple corporates + state.
- fred_is_fred 10y ago
  Could Amazon know how often you buy them OR could it be whatever the psychological phenomenon is when you buy a new car suddenly you see that model everywhere. It's "on the mind".
ibejoeb 10y ago
Are you talking about Messenger in text, Messenger in voice/video, or face-to-face conversations? I'm reading some of these linked threads that suggest that the microphone is recording at all times.
- samblr 10y ago
  face to face
NameNickHN 10y ago
For me it's not the question of whether they're doing it. Its technically feasible, so it's being done. What interests me more is whether the broad user base cares enough to change their habits. Does it become freaky enough for them that they'll change the way the use the platform? (Doesn't matter if it's Facebook or any other website.)
gt2 10y ago
Wouldn't this waste a lot of bandwidth? Or is it likely that the audio is being analyzed client side before pushing results to a server somewhere? Also, if this was actually happening, should this be announced in some terms of service?
gesman 10y ago
Why is that surprising though?
tranvu 10y ago
Same thing happened to me. I was eating Sunchips and then logged into Facebook to see an advertisement for Sunchips. Wouldn't be surprised that they're also watching us.
- paulcole 10y ago
  how often do you eat something, log into Facebook and not see an ad for that product?

32 points by samblr 10y ago

benologist 10y ago

I read last year accusations some android apps were in trouble for undisclosed listening to identify ads on television, that might be a good starting point for more information, it's technically possible something was listening. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ftc-android-developers-apps-tv-listening-silverpush/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ftc-android-developers-a...

r721 10y ago

This was discussed a lot: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/5k4dn8/im_becoming_scared_of_facebook/ https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/5k4dn8/im_becom... (6086 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13252242 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13252242 (109 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11833718 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11833718 (49 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10360761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10360761 (54 comments)

bsvalley 10y ago

It's from Techcrunch not FB. They use retargeting/remarketing ads and sell this info back to Facebook. A lot of websites do that... It's actually easy to find out what people browse on the web only by looking at their FB news feed. If you see a birth control ad on your girlfriend's FB news feed - run away!

dangrossman 10y ago
> If you see a birth control ad on your girlfriend's FB news feed - run away! What?

hbosch 10y ago

I believe this has been discussed before, but it never ceases to amaze my wife and I. We will be talking about, say suddenly needing new Swiffer pads. Face to face conversation, emergent and organic conversation, no prior searches in the last few weeks or anything like that. Then, next time you're scrolling through instagram, there is an Amazon ad for Swiffers.

DonHopkins 10y ago
I keep getting ads for plates of shrimp.
- CamelCaseName 10y ago
  Stop calling people "fooking prawns" then!
- hbosch 10y ago
  Guess it's just part of the lattice of coincidence.
samblr 10y ago
This kind of means: there will be multiple versions of '1984' from multiple corporates + state.
fred_is_fred 10y ago
Could Amazon know how often you buy them OR could it be whatever the psychological phenomenon is when you buy a new car suddenly you see that model everywhere. It's "on the mind".

ibejoeb 10y ago

Are you talking about Messenger in text, Messenger in voice/video, or face-to-face conversations? I'm reading some of these linked threads that suggest that the microphone is recording at all times.

samblr 10y ago
face to face

NameNickHN 10y ago

For me it's not the question of whether they're doing it. Its technically feasible, so it's being done. What interests me more is whether the broad user base cares enough to change their habits. Does it become freaky enough for them that they'll change the way the use the platform? (Doesn't matter if it's Facebook or any other website.)

gt2 10y ago

Wouldn't this waste a lot of bandwidth? Or is it likely that the audio is being analyzed client side before pushing results to a server somewhere? Also, if this was actually happening, should this be announced in some terms of service?

gesman 10y ago

Why is that surprising though?

tranvu 10y ago

Same thing happened to me. I was eating Sunchips and then logged into Facebook to see an advertisement for Sunchips. Wouldn't be surprised that they're also watching us.

paulcole 10y ago
how often do you eat something, log into Facebook and not see an ad for that product?