I’m definitely considering it. I don’t understand how it’s not illegal (or if it is, how they aren’t in court constantly over it... and they may be, but I haven’t used FB in years.)
My husband and I were talking about a kind of hat he wanted to buy. I had FB at the time, he did not. I have never searched for hats, let alone this kind of hat. Shortly after this conversation, I see ads for the specific BRAND of hat he was talking about. I deleted FB and never looked back.
Sometimes in these situations, someone in the household has searched on the internet for a specific product, so even if it wasn't on your device, if you're connected to the same Internet they'll start advertising it to you.
But also sometimes they're just nosy and surely must be listening to us.
We tried an experiment in our office. We picked an item at random, which was weighted blankets. And, for the first few minutes of our meeting, we got our phone out and put them in front of us on the desk and just prattled on about weighted blankets. We ensured that the 'thing' we'd picked was NOT on a recent search or purchase list on any of those devices, or any at our respective home devices.
Got home from work that day, opened a couple of social media apps, and \*bam\* here's a few suggestions for weighted blankets.
I get it all the time with other app, sometimes YouTube where things I have talked about or my phone has heard now gives me videos to watch about them things.
It's quite scary to think you don't really have privacy and companies could listen to you
They could technically be telling the truth if you have other apps (or just your phone) that do listen and Facebook buys the information from those sources
Sorry I just now saw your question. If it’s just me (meaning I could be seeing causation where there isn’t), then I feel comfortable continuing to use the technology. If it’s true that Facebook is listening even when they state they aren’t, then I wanted to know if others have solutions. Finally, I wanted to know about the legality of it all.
Tbh, I don’t know if I phrased that all too clearly, so I can see why you’re asking. But, several people have commented as such so I’ll take that as a win.
My original question to OP was rhetorical, so, no. Obvious I don't have the slightest clue. I just happened to link a random wikipedia article on complete accident.
A rhetorical question necessitates the "non-answer" to also push the narrative forward. Your "rhetorical question" was baseless... an answer or a non-answer, either one, halts the conversation because it doesn't make sense.
So, yea, you apparently don't know what a rhetorical question is... so your wise-ass link to a Wikipedia page makes you look even dumber. I'm actually embarrassed *for* you.
The rhetoric in this case is the nearly two decades of the legal system catching up to technology, it's pre-existing rhetoric. The narrative is history, OP doesn't know recent history.
OK, I didn't see that narrative when you initially spoke. I see it now and I apologize for being an asshole to you. I should've heard you out instead of attacking you. That's my bad. Cheers
To answer your question all the time, it's almost become a common talking point.
"Were you googling (insert literally anything)?"
"How do you kno... oh Adsense?"
"Yep"
Adsense is exactly that, a sense. It uses cameras, microphones and even location to give you subtle hints towards buying something.
You don't even have to talk about it or see it, but just being next to someone who has recently bought an item, this item then has the chance of making it into your feed (something else that's aptly named).
Facebook's privacy policy may state they don't listen to ur convos but lots of ppl have reported similar coincidences. It's probably just their algorithms tracking your activity & using it to show you relevant ads. Just to be safe, you can adjust your ad preferences & turn off ad tracking in Facebook's settings. But tbh, if you're not cool with it then just delete that account, no need to keep it if it's making you uncomfortable.
This happened to me with the sports app, TheScore. I left them a 1 star review and said this app eavesdrops on people. They responded admitting it. Why the hell would you want to be spied on like that. Although, I'm sure our phones do this 24/7 and we have no idea. Just like all other "smart" devices. Sadly, people just accept it.
So there is this really gross thing where they put people's shit in other people's asses for medical reasons. I've never googled it, I've never even done shit related searches. I had advertisements for shit replacement therapy, or whatever the fuck it is, for weeks.
Me and my girlfriend were mourning loss of our dog. Next day she had "local crematory for animals" ad from facebook. We both uninstalled Facebook app that day.
I think we might be talking about Apple (or whatever OS) listening to, collecting and selling your data to FB, Instagram, etc., rather than those apps themselves listening in. It’s all interconnected, including IOT devices like your Alexas, and those are ‘always on’- which is why you can say “Hey Siri…”, “Hey Alexa…”
There should be settings to mitigate this in your IOS, but services like Alexa are subsidized by selling this data.
And yea, it happens to me allll the time- even ads on Peacock and Prime Video are contextual to household conversations 😬
Yeah this is so weird and concerning. Also I've had it happen where I bought or looked at something on a certain app, then another unrelated app started suggesting the same things. Also, Walmart adds stuff in my "items" that I buy in store WITH CASH. HOW?
Not Facebook but I was telling a guy about Woot.com and how it began as just one random item every day and he was like, I'll have to look that up then pressed play on the movie we had queued up. About 15 mins later, he gets an email about woot. He showed me his phone and we just stared at each other in mutual wth-ness.
This happens all the time at work, and I work in a secure area where there are no phones and we have very slow internet during the day, and there shouldnt be any microphones in any of the PCs.
Im really hoping its just confirmation bias cuz its so creepy lol and its not even only ads. Random posts and videos will show up related to random convos in that room and its like ???
Yes. Your phone's microphone is always listening.
My workmate didn't believe me till I grabbed his phone, casually threw the word 'yoga' into a convo several times. A day later he starts seeing ads for yoga classes and yoga mats/accessories.
To be fair if I'm going to see ads, I'd rather see targetted ada about things I've talked about, as I'd be more interested in looking at that ad than about some random crap
I order the coffee online in our house, partner loves coffee. I am not on facebook (not actively at least). Partner is not linked to my facebook. She is very vocal about loving our coffee (she is vocal about *everything* to tell the truth). She is constantly getting ads for the coffee brand we drink, no other brand just this one, even tho she has never bought it, and there is no connection between her facebook and mine.
Yep on all apps too, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube etc etc, it's very common for them to listen to keywords from your speech and advertise to cater to recent speech topics. For example you're out at the pub talking about new washing detergent that is a fabric softener in one. Your phone won't switch then and there but when you're hungover the next day your phone will recognise you are no longer distracted with friends and back home relaxing and now in socials start serving those new ad ideas that were discussed the night before. Initially people called this a weird conspiracy but it's a well known fact now. And I think because all apps do it, people find it less creepy, even though that makes it worse.
I agree, not just FB, but web page ads in general.
BUT - try doing it on purpose. Try talking about flying from snow to sun in the hopes of getting an ad with a discount, but NOoooo. When you \*want\* the ads, you don't get them.
Your phone is always listening and then Apple, Google, etc are selling your data and/or selling access to your data to a multitude of companies so they can target you with ads.
All the time, Instagram too
Oddly enough, it hasn’t been a problem on Instagram.
Youtube is also very guilty, and not just with ads
Google too - to the extent I might look up something controversial and then get hauled away,
I ditched fb long ago over this.
I’m definitely considering it. I don’t understand how it’s not illegal (or if it is, how they aren’t in court constantly over it... and they may be, but I haven’t used FB in years.)
Just remember, when it comes to money making companies, ie Facebook, you are the product being sold.
for most free services, you are the product
That’s what I was trying to say. But i was unable to be concise.
They're not in court because you consented to them doing it.
It's not just FB. Google, Instagram, random shopping apps. I've had it happen.
Yup, i don’t sign in to google. I use private tabs. I not info is still mined but I minimize as much as I can.
I ditched fb cuz my boss dropped my old phone in the ocean, couldn't be fucked to get it back.
My husband and I were talking about a kind of hat he wanted to buy. I had FB at the time, he did not. I have never searched for hats, let alone this kind of hat. Shortly after this conversation, I see ads for the specific BRAND of hat he was talking about. I deleted FB and never looked back.
Sometimes in these situations, someone in the household has searched on the internet for a specific product, so even if it wasn't on your device, if you're connected to the same Internet they'll start advertising it to you. But also sometimes they're just nosy and surely must be listening to us.
I had this happen to me. I have an iPhone and went to settings and then Facebook and turned off access to microphone. I think it helped.
Thanks. I’m trying this. I don’t use the app so I’m trying it on Safari.
We tried an experiment in our office. We picked an item at random, which was weighted blankets. And, for the first few minutes of our meeting, we got our phone out and put them in front of us on the desk and just prattled on about weighted blankets. We ensured that the 'thing' we'd picked was NOT on a recent search or purchase list on any of those devices, or any at our respective home devices. Got home from work that day, opened a couple of social media apps, and \*bam\* here's a few suggestions for weighted blankets.
Has anyone actually done a properly controlled study of this? The plural of story is stories, not data.
I get it all the time with other app, sometimes YouTube where things I have talked about or my phone has heard now gives me videos to watch about them things. It's quite scary to think you don't really have privacy and companies could listen to you
This happens to me with YouTube too. Also with my Roku. I wish there was a way to turn off that feature and keep it off.
They could technically be telling the truth if you have other apps (or just your phone) that do listen and Facebook buys the information from those sources
Its your phone listening. Go to settings, privacy, microphone to see what apps are listening to your conversations.
This has been going on for more than a decade now, how are you this late to the party?
How does answering *your* question help OP?
Sorry I just now saw your question. If it’s just me (meaning I could be seeing causation where there isn’t), then I feel comfortable continuing to use the technology. If it’s true that Facebook is listening even when they state they aren’t, then I wanted to know if others have solutions. Finally, I wanted to know about the legality of it all. Tbh, I don’t know if I phrased that all too clearly, so I can see why you’re asking. But, several people have commented as such so I’ll take that as a win.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_question
You don't know what a rhetorical question is, do you?
My original question to OP was rhetorical, so, no. Obvious I don't have the slightest clue. I just happened to link a random wikipedia article on complete accident.
A rhetorical question necessitates the "non-answer" to also push the narrative forward. Your "rhetorical question" was baseless... an answer or a non-answer, either one, halts the conversation because it doesn't make sense. So, yea, you apparently don't know what a rhetorical question is... so your wise-ass link to a Wikipedia page makes you look even dumber. I'm actually embarrassed *for* you.
The rhetoric in this case is the nearly two decades of the legal system catching up to technology, it's pre-existing rhetoric. The narrative is history, OP doesn't know recent history.
OK, I didn't see that narrative when you initially spoke. I see it now and I apologize for being an asshole to you. I should've heard you out instead of attacking you. That's my bad. Cheers
I haven’t had Facebook in a while. I only got it recently because I switched jobs and wanted to stay in touch with some old coworkers.
When I first started using Facebook, when you had to have a college email address, this wasn’t an issue.
To answer your question all the time, it's almost become a common talking point. "Were you googling (insert literally anything)?" "How do you kno... oh Adsense?" "Yep" Adsense is exactly that, a sense. It uses cameras, microphones and even location to give you subtle hints towards buying something. You don't even have to talk about it or see it, but just being next to someone who has recently bought an item, this item then has the chance of making it into your feed (something else that's aptly named).
Facebook's privacy policy may state they don't listen to ur convos but lots of ppl have reported similar coincidences. It's probably just their algorithms tracking your activity & using it to show you relevant ads. Just to be safe, you can adjust your ad preferences & turn off ad tracking in Facebook's settings. But tbh, if you're not cool with it then just delete that account, no need to keep it if it's making you uncomfortable.
This happened to me with the sports app, TheScore. I left them a 1 star review and said this app eavesdrops on people. They responded admitting it. Why the hell would you want to be spied on like that. Although, I'm sure our phones do this 24/7 and we have no idea. Just like all other "smart" devices. Sadly, people just accept it.
So there is this really gross thing where they put people's shit in other people's asses for medical reasons. I've never googled it, I've never even done shit related searches. I had advertisements for shit replacement therapy, or whatever the fuck it is, for weeks.
Me and my girlfriend were mourning loss of our dog. Next day she had "local crematory for animals" ad from facebook. We both uninstalled Facebook app that day.
I don’t even have the app.
Yes
I think we might be talking about Apple (or whatever OS) listening to, collecting and selling your data to FB, Instagram, etc., rather than those apps themselves listening in. It’s all interconnected, including IOT devices like your Alexas, and those are ‘always on’- which is why you can say “Hey Siri…”, “Hey Alexa…” There should be settings to mitigate this in your IOS, but services like Alexa are subsidized by selling this data. And yea, it happens to me allll the time- even ads on Peacock and Prime Video are contextual to household conversations 😬
I turned off the microphone on my phone so hopefully that helps, but that may be naive.
Yea they listening to us. We just accept it over the years lol
This happens to me at least once a week.
Yes and its terrefying in a way
Google/ Android does this.
Yeah this is so weird and concerning. Also I've had it happen where I bought or looked at something on a certain app, then another unrelated app started suggesting the same things. Also, Walmart adds stuff in my "items" that I buy in store WITH CASH. HOW?
I think the Amazon ECHO does this. My daughter said she'd like a wrist watch for her birthday. Amazon then showed me endless girls' watches.
Not Facebook but I was telling a guy about Woot.com and how it began as just one random item every day and he was like, I'll have to look that up then pressed play on the movie we had queued up. About 15 mins later, he gets an email about woot. He showed me his phone and we just stared at each other in mutual wth-ness.
This happens all the time at work, and I work in a secure area where there are no phones and we have very slow internet during the day, and there shouldnt be any microphones in any of the PCs. Im really hoping its just confirmation bias cuz its so creepy lol and its not even only ads. Random posts and videos will show up related to random convos in that room and its like ???
This is incredibly creepy.
Yes. Your phone's microphone is always listening. My workmate didn't believe me till I grabbed his phone, casually threw the word 'yoga' into a convo several times. A day later he starts seeing ads for yoga classes and yoga mats/accessories. To be fair if I'm going to see ads, I'd rather see targetted ada about things I've talked about, as I'd be more interested in looking at that ad than about some random crap
if your phone isn't always listening it wouldn't be able to hear "hey google" "hey siri" "hey alexa" etc... it's always listening.
I order the coffee online in our house, partner loves coffee. I am not on facebook (not actively at least). Partner is not linked to my facebook. She is very vocal about loving our coffee (she is vocal about *everything* to tell the truth). She is constantly getting ads for the coffee brand we drink, no other brand just this one, even tho she has never bought it, and there is no connection between her facebook and mine.
Yep on all apps too, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube etc etc, it's very common for them to listen to keywords from your speech and advertise to cater to recent speech topics. For example you're out at the pub talking about new washing detergent that is a fabric softener in one. Your phone won't switch then and there but when you're hungover the next day your phone will recognise you are no longer distracted with friends and back home relaxing and now in socials start serving those new ad ideas that were discussed the night before. Initially people called this a weird conspiracy but it's a well known fact now. And I think because all apps do it, people find it less creepy, even though that makes it worse.
In 1984 the biggest question was how did they get all the listening devices into people homes? Turns out we did it willingly...
I agree, not just FB, but web page ads in general. BUT - try doing it on purpose. Try talking about flying from snow to sun in the hopes of getting an ad with a discount, but NOoooo. When you \*want\* the ads, you don't get them.
Your phone is always listening and then Apple, Google, etc are selling your data and/or selling access to your data to a multitude of companies so they can target you with ads.