Facebook Exec: 'Just Not True' That We Listen To Your Phone's Mic (theoutline.com)

Adrianne Jeffries, writing for The Outline: Facebook executive stepped outside of official channels of communication last night by tweeting about a negative rumor that seems to keep resurfacing no matter how many times the company denies it. "I run ads product at Facebook. We don't - and have never - used your microphone for ads. Just not true," tweeted Rob Goldman, vice president of ads products at Facebook. That includes Facebook-owned Instagram, he said. Goldman was responding to a tweet from PJ Vogt, one of the co-hosts of the tech podcast Reply All, which is producing a segment about the persistent belief that Facebook spies on users through the microphone. Vogt had asked people to call in to share their stories of why they think Facebook may be using the microphone to collect information for advertisers.

Comments

What for

[Anonymous Coward]

What DO you use the mic to listen in for then if not ads?

Re:What for

[mr_mischief]

Maybe they're getting ready to launch the Facebook Virtual Assistant.

I get it.

[Type44Q]

Just not true.

So it is, then.

Re:I get it.

[jellomizer]

If a company is innocent of an acquisition, how are they to prove this to the public?

They cannot confirm it because it is untrue, they cannot deny it, because it makes them seem like they are lying about it. If they say they will investigate it, it means they are dragging their feet. If they can find the source of the acquisition they may be able to sue them for libel, but then it is the greedy big business covering up the plight of the little guy.

In the world of lies, how do you promote the truth?

Now there are a lot of companies that will just outright lie when they are guilty too, but the bigger problem is, how can we show the truth, as the Lies get more press.

Re:I get it.

[orient]

A friend has asked a butcher, while buying meat, where to get an industrial meat grinder. He spoke the question, did not write/e-mail/text/IM it. Same evening, at home, Facebook started showing him ads for industrial meat grinders. This happened last year. Coincidence, right?

Re: I get it.

[k2r]

So you have been geographically close to someoneâ(TM)s mobile with a search history of baby related stuff, or maybe even on the same WiFi?
No microphone access needed...

He added

[110010001000]

He added "But thats a real good idea! Thanks!"

Scare-mongering, *sigh*

[EndlessNameless]

Any communications app could do this because they all have permission to access the mic and the network. This is not new, and you basically have to trust whatever you install.

If people could confine themselves to crying wolf when there is evidence of a wolf, that would be great. Because we already gloss over too many real vulnerabilities and poor practices in favor of sensationalism and nonsense.

Re:Scare-mongering, *sigh*

[Anonymous Coward]

sensationalism (in this case) gets people thinking about things like "why does this app have access to the mic?". Now that awareness is being raised, it's time to bust out the flood gates of all phone permissions and how they are abused so that real changes can be made.

You shouldn't have to trust what ever app you install. You should be able to trust your phone OS to block apps as you desire. App makers should be held accountable to detail exactly why they need permissions they ask for and a phone OS should be held accountable to let users allow/disable said permissions as they see fit. And not just in a "This app needs X permissions or it will not load". More like a "This app asks for permissions unrelated to it's operation and will be banned from the store if it refuses to work without them"

Nothing from your microphone ...

[powerlord]

" ... now your Camera ... no comment. But we do not use information from your microphone"

Very carefully worded

[ugen]

Watch the carefully worded denial, no doubt approved by company's lawyers.
"We don't - and have never - used your microphone for ads. Just not true.". Ok, so they did not use microphone *for ads*. What did they use it for?

(Here are some ideas that are not contrary to this denial: listening in for research purposes, compiling data on behalf of a government)

There is a saying about this sort of thing.

[sehlat]

I think it originated in the Soviet Union:

"Nothing is verified until it is officially denied."

So.....

Wow what a problem, now only if...

[Neuroelectronic]

http://osxdaily.com/2013/11/26...

Exactly what I was wondering

[SuperKendall]

I didn't think Facebook used the microphone for anything before i read that comment - they literally created doubt where there was none!

Re:Exactly what I was wondering

[gnick]

I didn't think Facebook used the microphone for anything before i read that...

Apparently there are FB features that allow video capture. That's why they claim they need mic access. I'm not worried about the mic - It's what they do with my location that gives me the creeps. Of course, that's easy to turn off if you're willing to give up the perks.

Overly suspicious

[A10Mechanic]

They never started denying it until we started accusing them. But all joking aside, has anyone de-compiled the app to see what's under the hood?

App developers need to stop the BS

[Anonymous Coward]

Most of the apps that I see on Google's store require access to everything.
Why? Why does a timer need locations access?

Or access to my contacts? Or camera?

Google's apps are the worst.

And Samsung put facebook on my J1 Ace. I can't get the fucker off. And the fucker starts itself up when I disable it. WTF?!?

So, since facebook's app acts that way, I don't believe a word that asshole says.

Why would it be true?

[ilsaloving]

There are so many easier and more efficient ways of stealing everyone's personal information en masse. Why would they bother resorting to surreptitiously activating your phone's microphone?

I've had their apps before.

[pecosdave]

If you want me to believe you DON'T listen through my Mic when just having your crap installed runs my battery down 40% faster - even when I'm not using it - you're on the wrong track.

IF you want me to believe you DON'T listen through my Mic but you just about break your neck trying to force me to install your chat app after I remove it by making it so that mobile browsers can't access chat anymore, you're on the wrong track.

IF you want me to believe you aren't spying on me in general and you feel the need to try to force me to install your normal app by making streaming video unavailable if I use a mobile browser you aren't convincing me.

I had their crap years ago. One of the first things I did after rooting my HTC One M8 was remove the crap that was put on their by HTC and/or AT&T.

Now that I have a Pixel it didn't come with a Facebook app, and I haven't installed it on this phone - ever. I do have other social network stuff installed, like Minds, Google +, and a couple of others. I'm pretty sure Google spys as bad as Facebook did, only it does that with Google + installed or not, and I'm pretty sure it has less battery impact.

I bought my wife one of those $50 Amazon tablets mostly because she wanted something like that just for Facebook and chat, the battery life was so pathetic she didn't ever start using it regularly. Now that the Facebook crap has been removed our son uses it for hours on end on road trips watching his kids shows. It's scary how long that battery lasts without Facebook software on it.

No Facebook - if you want to convince me you're not just there to spy on me you'll stop working with manufacturers to put your shitty software on phones in a manner that it can't be removed unless you're geeky enough to use the Android Developer kit and do some ROM flashing to get rid of it. I'm suspicious of ANYTHING that presents itself as mandatory. You'll also make your crap to where it doesn't run unless I start it. You literally make hardware akin to useless. I laugh at the people I see running around having to charge their phones all the time because they shit they have running on it constantly runs their batteries down. I don't carry a power bank and I laugh at people who do. Bullshit apps like Facebooks are what kills battery life, for the most part modern phones running a stable OS build without extra bullshit have incredible battery life.

Re:I've had their apps before.

[ctilsie242]

Rooting not just allows you to rip crap like that out, but gives you the ability to firewall, guaranteeing that if it ever came back, it wouldn't be able to phone home. I wish DonkeyGuard or xPrivacy were maintained. Those programs were top notch at not just keeping an app from getting to goodies, but giving it fake info, so it thinks it has contacts, photos, camera, mic... but in reality, it is pulling random numbers and repeatedly uploading a black screen.

Re:Overly specific

[Anonymous Coward]

Talking out loud about tin-foil hats now to see if I get any ads for a discount.

Find a shortwave radio and tune it into a station that is broadcasting Chinese or some other language than English. Leave your phone there for several hours then take note if any ads come up in that language.

Seems kind of weird

[93 Escort Wagon]

People spew their life's intimate and sordid details onto Facebook all the time... but they get up in arms that Facebook might be using the microphone to record them?

This is almost as bizarre as those people who demand the government take away constitutional rights due of terror attacks which kill at most a few dozen people a year, yet don't bat an eye at the ~ 9,000 annually who die due to drunken driving.

Prove it

[spire3661]

Post the source code.

Because Zuckerberg tapes over/disables his shit

[Khyber]

Which means HE KNOWS his shit's being used to do that, you fucking imbecile.

Re:Overly specific

[Kaenneth]

Hi Wayne, have you considered Reynold's brand foil hat for your next show?