Does facebook listen to conversations??
Discussion
tting with a 3lb lump hammer. That'll teach the eavesdropping bWell, not Facebook exactly but...
Travelling to London today using Google maps for nav duties, and my friend and i were chatting and got onto the conversation of a programme called Fully Charged and he saw one about and early Red VW Beetle that had been totally restored, but had electric motors rather than the original engine.
Got home, made a cuppa, opened the laptop and went to the Youtube website, and lo and behold, this exact programme was on my recommended list.
Secondly, on the way home, he was telling me that he now uses his iPad to check the Euro millions numbers via the QR code that is now on the ticket.
Around an hour later, my mobile rings with a Bristol number. I hit the reject button to send it to Voicemail. Again, got home and listened to my voicemails and this Bristol number is an automated person telling me on how joining a Euro millions syndicate would increase my chances of winning.
Now, i am the last of the TFH brigade, but WTF??
With of these, Google maps was open as i was using it for nav duties.
Travelling to London today using Google maps for nav duties, and my friend and i were chatting and got onto the conversation of a programme called Fully Charged and he saw one about and early Red VW Beetle that had been totally restored, but had electric motors rather than the original engine.
Got home, made a cuppa, opened the laptop and went to the Youtube website, and lo and behold, this exact programme was on my recommended list.
Secondly, on the way home, he was telling me that he now uses his iPad to check the Euro millions numbers via the QR code that is now on the ticket.
Around an hour later, my mobile rings with a Bristol number. I hit the reject button to send it to Voicemail. Again, got home and listened to my voicemails and this Bristol number is an automated person telling me on how joining a Euro millions syndicate would increase my chances of winning.
Now, i am the last of the TFH brigade, but WTF??
With of these, Google maps was open as i was using it for nav duties.
Upgraded to the new MacOS yesterday with Siri built in. The Ts & Cs quite clearly state how an awful lot of data from the microphone is sent to Apple if you use the service. I would not be surprised if other data goes to other apps in the same way.
FWIW I turned Siri off
I'm not ready for that level of intrusion yet... 
FWIW I turned Siri off
I'm not ready for that level of intrusion yet... Alucidnation said:
Well, not Facebook exactly but...
A couple of months ago my wife and I were talking about putting our house on the market. A few hours later I got a call on my mobile from a local conveyancing solicitor asking about our property sale.We had only spoken about it a couple of hours earlier. So...
A. Was my phone spying on our conversation, passing the data back to an underground supercomputer somewhere under the Swiss Alps which was determining whether I am an enemy of the state (pass conversation to James Bond) or just a normal bloke chatting about houses (pass conversation on to John Smith Conveyancing).
or
B. Was this a coincidence and they had transposed two digits of the number they meant to call?
It's one thing to believe that an iPhone has the processing power to convert "Phone my wife" into a command that can be interpreted by an API (it can and does) but quite another to believe that a phone is spying on your conversations. And not just yours, everyone's. At (I would guess) 0.25MB/sec, that is quite some data to process. And who is paying for this massive amount of data to be uploaded? Should I ask for a rebate from Vodafone if I buy a phone that doesn't spy on me, as I'm obviously using a lot less data that you...
wiggy001 said:
A couple of months ago my wife and I were talking about putting our house on the market. A few hours later I got a call on my mobile from a local conveyancing solicitor asking about our property sale.
We had only spoken about it a couple of hours earlier. So...
A. Was my phone spying on our conversation, passing the data back to an underground supercomputer somewhere under the Swiss Alps which was determining whether I am an enemy of the state (pass conversation to James Bond) or just a normal bloke chatting about houses (pass conversation on to John Smith Conveyancing).
or
B. Was this a coincidence and they had transposed two digits of the number they meant to call?
It's one thing to believe that an iPhone has the processing power to convert "Phone my wife" into a command that can be interpreted by an API (it can and does) but quite another to believe that a phone is spying on your conversations. And not just yours, everyone's. At (I would guess) 0.25MB/sec, that is quite some data to process. And who is paying for this massive amount of data to be uploaded? Should I ask for a rebate from Vodafone if I buy a phone that doesn't spy on me, as I'm obviously using a lot less data that you...
Not sure why it's that unbelievable, Echelon is over 50 years old. Technology has come a long way since then. We had only spoken about it a couple of hours earlier. So...
A. Was my phone spying on our conversation, passing the data back to an underground supercomputer somewhere under the Swiss Alps which was determining whether I am an enemy of the state (pass conversation to James Bond) or just a normal bloke chatting about houses (pass conversation on to John Smith Conveyancing).
or
B. Was this a coincidence and they had transposed two digits of the number they meant to call?
It's one thing to believe that an iPhone has the processing power to convert "Phone my wife" into a command that can be interpreted by an API (it can and does) but quite another to believe that a phone is spying on your conversations. And not just yours, everyone's. At (I would guess) 0.25MB/sec, that is quite some data to process. And who is paying for this massive amount of data to be uploaded? Should I ask for a rebate from Vodafone if I buy a phone that doesn't spy on me, as I'm obviously using a lot less data that you...
I seriously don't know why people download the Facebook app, when you can use safari to stay logged in and still access your messages etc....(in other words no Facebook/messenger app). Once logged in on safari Crete a shortcut and you'll stay perma-logged in.
Because you're running through the iPhone's native web app, Facebook can't listen to a thing; you haven't give it (FB app) permission!
Because you're running through the iPhone's native web app, Facebook can't listen to a thing; you haven't give it (FB app) permission!
extraT said:
I seriously don't know why people download the Facebook app, when you can use safari to stay logged in and still access your messages etc....(in other words no Facebook/messenger app). Once logged in on safari Crete a shortcut and you'll stay perma-logged in.
Because you're running through the iPhone's native web app, Facebook can't listen to a thing; you haven't give it (FB app) permission!
Not any more, on Android it's Messenger or nothing...Because you're running through the iPhone's native web app, Facebook can't listen to a thing; you haven't give it (FB app) permission!
Try something more mainstreamWinstonWolf said:
extraT said:
WinstonWolf said:
Not any more, on Android it's Messenger or nothing...
Really, can't you access the full site through the phones browser, messenger an all? Annoying on Facebooks part, I'm happy we don't use the messenger a lot.
We do use whatsapp though :/
Read this thread a few weeks ago, thought nothing of it.
Went to Zante on 20th Sept. First night in a very quiet bar we were talking to an older couple from Cardiff. Saying that we visit cities a few times a year the gent suggested a visit to Cardiff saying it was now now improved after a lot of money spent on it. I said I visited in 2003 when the Wolves played Sheffield and liked the look of it then.
The next night, Facebook advert for 'Visit Cardiff' popped up on my posts!
We didn't swap numbers with this couple, just chatted and no-one looked at their phones for the hour we were talking.
Went to Zante on 20th Sept. First night in a very quiet bar we were talking to an older couple from Cardiff. Saying that we visit cities a few times a year the gent suggested a visit to Cardiff saying it was now now improved after a lot of money spent on it. I said I visited in 2003 when the Wolves played Sheffield and liked the look of it then.
The next night, Facebook advert for 'Visit Cardiff' popped up on my posts!
We didn't swap numbers with this couple, just chatted and no-one looked at their phones for the hour we were talking.
Here's what's baffling me:
I had a new "people you might know" come up over the weekend. This is a person I've never met, but I DID just write / deliver a presentation with him prominently featured in an org chart.
After the facebook on my phone episode (where it seemed to look at all phone contacts and try to suggest I add work poeple to it), I deleted the app. I don't log into facebook on my phone either. I've never called this chap. He's not in my lotus notes contacts, I've never emailed him directly, and I'd never heard his name before 2-3 weeks ago.
How in gods name did their algorithms put 2 and 2 together? Goes facebook use some sort of equivalent of the google ad tracker and it found him via my laptop? If it did, I'd love to know the mechanism - my non-expert brain can't think of any clean way that wouldn't fall foul of data policies...
I had a new "people you might know" come up over the weekend. This is a person I've never met, but I DID just write / deliver a presentation with him prominently featured in an org chart.
After the facebook on my phone episode (where it seemed to look at all phone contacts and try to suggest I add work poeple to it), I deleted the app. I don't log into facebook on my phone either. I've never called this chap. He's not in my lotus notes contacts, I've never emailed him directly, and I'd never heard his name before 2-3 weeks ago.
How in gods name did their algorithms put 2 and 2 together? Goes facebook use some sort of equivalent of the google ad tracker and it found him via my laptop? If it did, I'd love to know the mechanism - my non-expert brain can't think of any clean way that wouldn't fall foul of data policies...
Oakey said:
He might have looked you up.
I doubt it, but does it work that way?Say I want to add someone I know called Bill Murray. You search for Bill Murray and 17 of the buggers are sure to turn up. You ned up clicking on each in turn until the picture says you have the right bloke (although at my time of life 1/2 of people seemingly use a picture of offspring so it's hit and miss).
Does FB then say to every _other_ Bill Murray that some gump might be their firend? Seems like a fairly inelegant / useless solution...
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