10 February 2023 , 12:13
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A woman claims she has proof that Facebook is listening to her every day conversations to tailor adverts toward her. Tanya, who is known as @tanya_moxie on TikTok, explained how she met up with her sister to have a pedicure when she later noticed a foot-related advert on her timeline.
She wrote on TikTok: "I know my phone is listening to me. The ad that popped up on my Facebook right after my sister and I met for pedicures and talked about how many men have a foot fetish." She showed her followers the advert for "1 Pair Silicone Lifesize Female Feet" being sold on Amazon, while questioning "who's buying these".
However, this isn't the only time Facebook has been accused of listening to its users, as other social media users have made the same claims.
It prompted experts to look into the claims - but many believe it has more to do with the sheer amount of information companies like Meta and TikTok have on their users, putting it down to a "creepy" coincidence.
Ad tracking data can follow you and your network across different apps - meaning it is possible Facebook picked up on Tanya's search history to show her a foot-related product.
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In an attempt to squash these claims, Meta released a statement covering whether "Facebook and Instagram [are] listing to your conversations".
It reads: "No. We understand that sometimes ads can be so specific, it seems like we must be listening to your conversations through your microphone, but we're not.
"We only use your microphone if you've given us permission and are actively using a feature that requires the microphone.
"If you want more control over how your information influences the ads we show you, there are a few places to do that.
"You can view some ad-specific settings in your ad preferences, or you can view your information and remove things that you don't want us to use."
The company prompts users to read more about how they decide which ads to show each user, claiming "We want to show you ads from businesses that are interesting and relevant to you."
The statement adds: "These are some examples of information that we could use to show you ads: your activity on Instagram; the content of the posts that you make or interact with on Instagram and Facebook; your information and interests on Facebook, if you have a Facebook account; your activity on third-party websites and apps that you use."
They also use information provided by "businesses outside of Instagram or Meta technologies, and advertisers, their partners and [Meta's] marketing partners may share information with us that they already have, such as your email address".