from Hacker News

Facebook Does Not Use Your Phone’s Microphone for Ads or News Feed Stories

by LukeB_UK on 6/3/16, 10:26 PM with 47 comments

• by xviia on 6/3/16, 11:45 PM

  Good thing everyone has been so honest about data capture of Americans ...

  “What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls and the NSA cannot target your e-mails.” President Obama, June 16, 2013, on the Charlie Rose Show

  During a March 12, 2013, Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden asked DNI Clapper if the NSA collected any type of data on millions of Americans. Clapper said: “No, sir.”

  “We don’t hold data on U.S. citizens.” DNI Clapper speaking at the American Enterprise Institute on July 9, 2012

  “Provides the government the same authority in national security investigations to obtain physical records that exits in an ordinary criminal case, through a grand jury subpoena.” Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaking on the Senate floor on May 22, 2011

• by 0x0 on 6/4/16, 12:53 AM

  "Does not use your microphone (..) to inform ads or change what you see in news feed" leaves a lot of room for other uses. Does it change what you see in other places? Does it affect your advertisement preferences without notifying the advertisers? (what does "inform ads" even mean?)

  Why not just say "Does not use your microphone without tapping a record button" (and make sure it's implemented like that).

• by cortesoft on 6/3/16, 11:32 PM

  I think these rumors are just a side effect of how good these companies can be at predicting what you are, or will be, interested in. People think it must be listening in when it is just using other bits of info about you.

  Like when Target knew the guy's daughter was pregnant before he did: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-incredible-story-of-how-t...

• by MichaelGG on 6/4/16, 12:17 AM

  Coming after "Facebook doesn't have bias in news" and "Facebook news is purely algorithmically generated", hopefully this will give people pause.

• by marricks on 6/3/16, 11:35 PM

  That's a pretty good blanket statement, hard to see how they could be twisting words here except as jvehent said, they may in the future.

  That being said, it is unsettling they have the feature. A lot of people, me included, were upset when Google started reading our emails for ads. Slowly, people started accepting that was the norm, and there is a lot less fuss over it now, bigger other battles to fight with the NSA and other privacy issues.

  Whose to say what we say out loud is more private than emails? It really could be a matter of time until that expectation of privacy of the spoken word is diminished with the rise of Alex and the like.

• by dredmorbius on 6/4/16, 5:01 AM

  Why do phones, tablets, laptops, etc., not come at the very least as an option in a form WITHOUT integrated microphones, and with cappable lenses?

  If I want a mic, I'll plug in a goddamned headset.

• by killbrad on 6/4/16, 12:39 AM

  Well, since Facebook said it, it must be true, and immutably so.

• by riprowan on 6/3/16, 11:54 PM

  Of course not.

  Audio processing is handled by a third party.

• by logn on 6/4/16, 1:28 AM

  Assuming they're honest here, is it possible it's other apps tapping the microphone, correlating it with your Facebook account, and somehow placing items in your newsfeed/etc.? I'm not familiar with the capabilities of FB ad platform to know if this is feasible. Otherwise, like someone else here said, it's probably contracted out to a third-party doing the mic listening.

• by raddad on 6/4/16, 7:42 AM

  I've always said Facebook is a government agents, pedophiles, stalkers and burglars dream come true. All that information freely given away to whoever wishes to collect it. Now with the audio video aspect, Facebook can branch out into amateur porn.

• by compiler-guy on 6/4/16, 12:51 AM

  Facebook Does Not Use Your Phone's Microphone for Ads or News Feed Stories...

  ...right now.

• by kamiller201 on 6/4/16, 1:34 AM

  Beyond what everyone else is saying about the limitations on what the actual language indicates, both the length and the tone of this message sound questionable...

• by Joof on 6/4/16, 1:08 AM

  So what do they use the data for?

• by carsongross on 6/3/16, 11:34 PM

  Said facebook.

  That's awfully specific.

• by jgalt212 on 6/4/16, 2:10 AM

  Peter Thiel approved this message.

• by amaks on 6/4/16, 1:05 AM

  (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100652-Facebook-CE...)

  Zuckerberg: They "trust me" Zuckerberg: Dumb f*cks.

• by franciscop on 6/3/16, 11:37 PM

  yet

• by randartie on 6/4/16, 1:17 AM

  Amazing levels of cynicism here on HN.

• by Nursie on 6/4/16, 12:51 AM

  No, it doesn't, because it will never be installed on my phone!

• by hetfeld on 6/4/16, 1:00 AM

  Facebook Does Not Use Your Phone’s Microphone for Ads or News Feed Stories Yet

• by jvehent on 6/3/16, 11:23 PM

  Let me fix that for you: "Facebook Does Not [yet] Use Your Phone’s Microphone for Ads or News Feed Stories"