Thread: Is Facebook eavesdropping thru your phone's microphone?

I've heard about this theory before and even saw where a few facebook friends had posted about some very strange coincidences. The odd part was that the ads suddenly popped up related to things mentioned in in-person conversations, NOT conversations done thru their phones...and as these were not common everyday items it made them all the more suspicious.

Well, a couple of days ago on my way home I stopped at an estate sale I saw. I looked at a lot of items and wound up buying a metal shelving unit and one of those long orange extension cords.

So I get home and want to sit back and chill for a bit. I turn on my phone and go to the facebook marketplace as I was looking at something there earlier...and it was NOT shelving units or extension cords. I had NO plans to buy either item, they were just something I ran across that had a really good price that I knew I could put to use.

I refresh the page and what are the first two ads I see? The first was for metal shelving units and the second was for orange extensions cords! I don't think I'd even ever seen ads for them before and I certainly never did searches for them before either.

So how could that happen? Wayyy too coincidental! Its looking very credible that they are indeed eavesdropping even when your off your phone.

Of course facebook denies it:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/3/11...rophone-denial

I had a friend mention this one time a year or two ago after something happened to them similar.

Did the estate sale register your purchase in some way ? Did they take your name, address, email, phone number ?

Originally Posted by krystian

I've heard about this theory before and even saw where a few facebook friends had posted about some very strange coincidences. The odd part was that the ads suddenly popped up related to things mentioned in in-person conversations, NOT conversations done thru their phones...and as these were not common everyday items it made them all the more suspicious.

Well, a couple of days ago on my way home I stopped at an estate sale I saw. I looked at a lot of items and wound up buying a metal shelving unit and one of those long orange extension cords.

So I get home and want to sit back and chill for a bit. I turn on my phone and go to the facebook marketplace as I was looking at something there earlier...and it was NOT shelving units or extension cords. I had NO plans to buy either item, they were just something I ran across that had a really good price that I knew I could put to use.

I refresh the page and what are the first two ads I see? The first was for metal shelving units and the second was for orange extensions cords! I don't think I'd even ever seen ads for them before and I certainly never did searches for them before either.

So how could that happen? Wayyy too coincidental! Its looking very credible that they are indeed eavesdropping even when your off your phone.

Of course facebook denies it:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/3/11...rophone-denial

You could run a few tests.

Hold some imaginary conversations about various products and see if ads start popping up. Although FB denies, I don't believe them. There are many reports of this happening.

That is very creepy (as I look up to make sure the sticky note is still covering my webcam and the mic is muted....)

And yet another reason I'm not affiliated with FaceBoink -

I rarely go on FB. A couple of times a week maybe. Or to check something out if my wife tells me. That being the case, I don't have the phone app installed. I'll just go to it in my phone's browser if I want to look on my phone.

I am active on Instagram though and at times (as some of you on FB know) I will post on FB what I am posting in Instagram. There is an option in the Instagram app to simultaneously post in FB when you do the Instagram post. But I don't always post to FB when I post to Instagram. I post a lot of my flying videos and food mainly. lol. If anybody wants my Instagram name just PM me. I just don't want to put it in a public post here. Most that are on FB here are already my friends on FB.

I never put FB on my phone.

I wonder if it's the same for my laptop.

They're going to be hearing a lot of sermons on Romans of late!!

Originally Posted by victoryword

Whaaaaaat!!! Girl, you don't know what you are missing. But, as a frequent user of FB let me give a list of a few great things you are missing out on:

1. Family and friends you grew up with now hating you because they discovered that you are no longer voting democrat/republican.

I will say it is cool connecting with all the people from school back in the day, etc. We've had several reunions/get togethers and it's been nice to see people that I never thought I would see again the rest of my life. I bet that has broken up a lot of marriages though.