Have you ever been talking to your friend about a certain brand and then you open your Instagram and BAM, there’s an advertisement for that brand?! Well this has happened to me on more than one occasion and frankly it’s a little bit scary!
And apparently I’m not alone!
Sam Nichols put this to the test in an experiment (you can read the full article here). Twice a day for 5 days, he vocalised that he is considering going to university and literally overnight, the advertisements he received on Facebook were about starting university mid semester. :O (Coincidence? I think not.)
Although, Facebook (who also owns Instagram) has repeatedly said that the applications only use the microphone when specific actions are undertaken (such as a voice call or using the camera to record a video) and denied that they are using users microphone without permission to target advertisements. However, it’s extremely difficult to believe all these experiences are just coincidental. (You can read Facebooks statement here).
If this is true, this means brands will target users who speak about their brand by showing them advertisements relating to their speech. This works particularly well for fast food companies, speaking from personal experience of course! (KFC got the better of me too many times)
So, this raises questions about our privacy, do we even have any privacy? With technology becoming so advanced so rapidly, and by using these technologies, are we almost asking for it by using and owning devices that enable voice recording/listening? For example using Siri, Bixby, Okay Google and Google Home/Alexa which are voice activated technologies… are they always listening? or are they only listening when they’re activated like they say they are? Who knows.
What do you think? Have you ever had an experience where you thought Facebook was listening to your conversation? Is it wrong?
Talking Tech with Bec 
This is such a fascinating topic and I’m not sure if we’ll get to the bottom of it unless companies confirm the allegations.
I’ve had experiences where I’ve spoken about something and had later seen ads for it, but, I did some research and found out that ad services will often take a multitude of variables into consideration. If, for example, I’m talking about… a Nike drink bottle on a train, and someone overhears me and googles it, or my friend googles it, then the ad services may associate myself to them. They create personas and bunch similar individuals together and predict what ads they want to see and products they want to buy.
I think it’s wrong for sure!
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Yes this is true too! I actually listened to a podcast by Reply All (#109 Is Facebook Spying on You?) a little while ago that explained some possible ways Facebook is targeting ads to you! One was that a number of people you’re friends which have google searched a particular product and therefore they have targeted this to you under the assumption you have similar interests as you’ve mentioned. I mean this definitely is a possibility, however I think there is a strong case for the eavesdropping.
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This has happened so many times to me and other people I know!!! And you’re right, it’s honestly so scary when you think about it.
I feel like targetted ads if you’ve already looked something up or advertising products that are similar to products you already like/follow is one thing, and I don’t really have an issue with this, it’s really just the future of marketing/tech. BUT when they’re literally listening and watching our every move that’s a bit much for me, definitely an invasion of privacy. In saying that though, I really don’t know how anyone would be able to regulate this though … seems the big companies like google and facebook have all the power in this situation for the foreseeable future don’t they?
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You’re exactly right! It’s also important to note that there are settings in your google account to not use targeted ads based on your search history – giving you the power back in that regard, however this audio spying is being denied by Facebook which just makes the whole situation worse and increasingly difficult to regulate. Maybe in the future there will be hard evidence proof, but for now we can only speculate.
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Happens to me all the time! It’s an extremely worrying trend, but I think the sanctity of consumer privacy will progressively dwindle. I think most people would consider their smart devices to be more valuable than their privacy.
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Interesting point you make here, Lavan. The times definitely have changed in regard to privacy, it’s scary to think what will happen in another 50 years in that regard.
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Ah I just read a few days ago that someone claimed Facebook was listening to him. He experimented by talking about ‘cat food’ (although he had no cat) and the very next day, there was Facebook ad about cat food in his feed. Although Facebook denied this, I still strongly believe Facebook listens to what we say.
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See! It seems almost impossible to just be a coincidence! Facebook might have some explaining to do someday!
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