FACEBOOK IS USING SMARTPHONES TO LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY, PROFESSOR SUGGESTS.

The company says that it does use peoples' microphones, but only to help them out – and there’s an easy way of turning it off.

Facebook could be listening in on people’s conversations all of the time, an expert has claimed.

The app might be using people’s phones to gather data on what they are talking about, it has been claimed.

Facebook says that its app does listen to what’s happening around it, but only as a way of seeing what people are listening to or watching and suggesting that they post about it.



All the personal information you give away each time you 'like' a Facebook page
The feature has been available for a couple of years, but recent warnings from Kelli Burns, mass communication professor at the University of South Florida, have drawn attention to it.

Professor Burns has said that the tool appears to be using the audio it gathers not simply to help out users, but might be doing so to listen in to discussions and serve them with relevant advertising. She says that to test the feature, she discussed certain topics around the phone and then found that the site appeared to show relevant ads.


Though Professor Burns said she was not convinced that Facebook is listening in on conversations – it may have been that she was searching for the same things that she chose to discuss around the phone – but she said that it wouldn't be a surprising move from the site.

The claim chimes with anecdotal reports online that the site appears to show ads for things that people have mentioned in passing.

Facebook said that it does listen to audio and collect information from users – but that the two aren't combined, and that sounds heard around people aren't used to decide what appears in the app.


“Facebook does not use microphone audio to inform advertising or News Feed stories in any way," a spokesperson told The Independent. "Businesses are able to serve relevant ads based on people’s interests and other demographic information, but not through audio collection.”

At the moment, the feature is only available in the US.

When it was first introduced, in 2014, Facebook responded to controversy by arguing that the phone isn’t “always listening” and that it never stores the “raw audio” when it is listening.


The next stage for Facebook?
Facebook says explicitly on its help pages that it doesn’t record conversations, but that it does use the audio to identify what is happening around the phone. The site promotes the feature as an easy way of identifying what you are listening to or watching, to make it easier and quicker to post about whatever’s going on.



Facebook profile photos reveal people’s personalities
If people want to use the feature that way, then they can start writing a post in the normal way. If it’s turned on, then it will start identifying what is being listened to or watching – at which point a little face with some soundwaves next to it will appear.

If it identifies the sound successfully, then it will show a little “1” next to the face instead – users can then click that, select the thing they are watching or listening to, and then write the rest of the update.

“If your phone's microphone has trouble matching what you're listening to or watching, the room you're in may be loud or a commercial may be on,” according to Facebook’s help page. “If this happens, tap, drag and release your screen to try a new match.”

Turning off the microphone in a phone’s settings is relatively easy, and since it can be done at the level of the operating system, doing so will mean that Facebook can’t turn it on even if it wanted to. It’s done on an iPhone by heading to the app’s settings, clicking through to privacy and switching the slider for microphone; on Android phones, head to settings and then privacy, and change the permissions that the Facebook app is given.

The claims come after Belgian police warned citizens not to use Facebook's Reactions tool if they valued their privacy.



http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-using-people-s-phones-to-listen-in-on-what-they-re-saying-claims-professor-a7057526.html

chairman executive director Land Grabber Association Of Nigeria (LGAN)


This land is not for sale..



be warned



the poster below me have something to say

Really

Ok

jeez

Since it's Facebook, nothing will happen. They won't delist the app on playstore or ban it in their country.

LOL

Thank God I left that shitbook a long time ago.
Happy to be a nairalander.

Mtcheew, bow many conversations dem want listen to? D people who have conversations worth protecting don't even use smartphones for such calls

Really?

Na so dem dey use know who dey run local

me i don't even understand what he's saying

With every new technology, we are jeopardizing our privacy.
For example, Facebook knows most things about you. You can be tracked through your cell phone and lots more.
Soon they will be taking secret video shots of people in za oza room.

No be when data dey on dem fit...
Don't make, nor receive calls with my data on... not only facebook that does that, there are other apps that does...
I wonder why every damn app want permission to everything on your phone.

every phone I bought I always remove the camera and mouth piece... when I wanna make calls I use earpiece

1984: The big brother is watching you!

before nko

Smart Phone users should encrypt there phones for voice calls na...


Steps on switching off your Facebook Microphone..
*Locate ur phone settings
*Click on apps
*Click on apps permission
*Click on Facebook
* Uncheck microphone

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intruding our privacy.. if it was a black man app, he'll probably be under investigation

Yep! I read about this some weeks ago. And I sharply deleted that Facebook messenger app.

still it won't stop people from using it.

zender and fileshare app bore and access all your personal file and info even the hidden one yet people still download and install it on their phone daily.

thank God I only use fu.cckbook

nice and sweet website.

Not dea falt..na villagers... Check out my new song Anambra-dot-com

[quote author=jendhorlee post=62600698][/quote] is it your space? someone can not come and book space in peace again

There's no privacy.

The cost of free Internet.

them

The day i feared Facebook was when i newly took an interest in Binary Options
I focused on training myself for 1 month, doing researches, watching videos, downloading PDF's (with the help of Google only)
Just to get good at it. During my 1 month learning, i never logged into Facebook at any point.
After i tried to trade Binary option and lost, i decided to quit. I logged into Facebook to see whats up
But then all the advert that kept popping up were only about Binary Options and Forex, in my mind
i was like "how did this guys know what i want?" it then dawned on me that this people have access to my internet history
They have access to everything thing i do on my computer when I'm online. This guys are literally internet giant. Imagine if a Nigerian man had all that resources at his disposal. There will be so much chaos in the world.

I don’t have anything to hide, they can listen ...
Who cares?


Funny enough, it’s even those who have nothing Facebook can use that are even complaining more.

Okay, Mark Zuckerberg should continue!

See 11 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT ON FACEBOOK