Slashdot Mirror
Facebook Could Be Eavesdropping On Your Phone Calls (news10.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Facebook is not just looking at user's personal information, interests, and online habits but also to your private conversations, revealed a new report. According to NBC report, this may be the case as Kelli Burns, a professor at University of South Florida states, "I don't think that people realize how much Facebook is tracking every move we're making online. Anything that you're doing on your phone, Facebook is watching." the professor said. Now how do you prove that? Professor Kelli tested out her theory by enabling the microphone feature, and talked about her desire to go on a safari, informing about the mode of transport she would take. "I'm really interested in going on an African safari. I think it'd be wonderful to ride in one of those jeeps," she said aloud, phone in hand. The results were shocking, as less than 60 seconds later, the first post on her Facebook feed was about a safari story out of nowhere, which was then revealed that the story had been posted three hours earlier. And, after mentioning a jeep, a car ad also appeared on her page. On a support page, Facebook explains how this feature works: "No, we don't record your conversations. If you choose to turn on this feature, we'll only use your microphone to identify the things you're listening to or watching based on the music and TV matches we're able to identify. If this feature is turned on, it's only active when you're writing a status update." I wonder how many people are actually aware of this.
"God, I just don't understand how he can be such a dick. Anyway, I've gotta go, time to put my cake in the oven." Two minutes, an idle Facebook moment, and an ad for erotic cakes later...
If you choose to turn on this feature, we'll only use your microphone to identify the things you're listening to or watching based on the music and TV matches we're able to identify. If this feature is turned on, it's only active when you're writing a status update
Did the person who wrote this actually read what they wrote? If they're identifying what users are listening to and matching them to something else, then that's still a record, even if it's not an audio recording.
I gave up the Facebook app years ago. m.facebook.com gives all the functionality I need; I don't even miss it...and it takes far less data than the app.
Stop using the Facebook app!
If you give your privacy away, just so you can post status updates about your life, you're not really concerned about privacy, are you?
In other words, most people could not care any less about "privacy" since they are practically posting their daily lives on facebook. The problem is, those people are dragging the rest of us down along side them.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I got my wife one of those $50 Amazon tablets recently. Removing the Facebook app increased her battery life by close to 60%. A significant part of the reason I paid the money for the Sunshine crack to own my Android phone was to get the Facebook app off my phone all together. The storage space it doesn't deserve, the battery life and bandwidth it hogs, not to mention the spying is way more trouble than Facebook is worth.
Sure, now I still have to deal with the Google and Amazon spying, but one bridge at a time.
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
It's the bomb.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
"Facebook Could Be Eavesdropping On Your Phone Calls"
Translation:
"Facebook Is Eavesdropping On Your Phone Calls"
After all of the egregious privacy abuses by Facebook that have already been uncovered, why this would surprise anyone is beyond me. OF COURSE they're eavesdropping on your conversations, you idiots. You should have assumed this a long time ago.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Android Marshmallow gives you the option to deny specific permissions an app asks for. I was kinda surprised at how many wanted access to the microphone and camera (that weren't sound or camera apps). It's getting to the point where I'm starting to think a mute button (physically disconnects the wires to your mic) and a physical cover to slide over any camera lenses are becoming a necessity.
There are reasonable expectations and there are unreasonable expectations. Users may be guilty of being naive and giving an inch, but Facebook has taken that inch and run 10 miles down Big Brother Blvd. all the way out to Creepytown. So yes, users have some role, but it's no more than 10%, and a whole lot less in my opinion.
I suspect that in your haste you forgot to mention that you have deleted your Facebook account, and furthermore don't even own a TV. :^)
Hey, Windows users, there is no such thing as "forward" slash, there is only slash and backslash.
I've had a similar experience with Google. Having a conversation and then start typing a search based on that conversation in Google and with just a few letters typed, one of the suggestions is 100% on topic for the conversation I was having. This is typically on my desktop and I'm not running any Google offline apps (just hitting web pages).
Google is even worse... they do mind reading. Often when I am only thinking of something and start typing it, autocomplete shows the exact thing I was thinking about! Get out of my head, Google! I can't even find a setting in Android to turn this mind reading feature off.
I use FB on my phone... via a mobile browser. One that I only use for FB. I have a separate browser I use for websurfing. I don't let the FB browser post notifications or have access to my location. I lose a few features that way, but I can still participate in "social media" without giving FB total access to my phone and life.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!