Does facebook listen to conversations??
Discussion
DaveGB said:
LinkedIn gives options to upload all your contacts on phone. Add this to anything MS has on you, your contacts etc and it doesn’t take much to start building links between people.
it's probably this... and it's what i kind of meant earlier. The two people have the same mutual contact in their phone.The podcast "Reply All" did an episode investigating this as best they could, and at least one of the reporters came away convinced that there's no skulduggery or eavesdropping going on, as almost any "coincidence" could be explained away by the well known data harvesting methods that FB and Google are totally open about.
The gist of it is that FB lumps you into a demographic that is constantly becoming more detailed and specific the more it learns about you. If your friends are in the same demographic (of which there is a good chance), your closeness can be measured based on comparing browsing and shopping histories, shared physical locations at the same time, or tagging yourself at similar places. Now, if following a conversation about some obscure thing, your friend googles that same thing (unbeknownst to you), advertisers will be on that in a second and say "well if this guy is interested enough in watermelon slicing gadgets, his friends who are almost identical in demographic terms will probably also like it".
The example given was a mother in the US who was flying to another city to visit her son. She tagged herself at the airport, giving away that she was travelling away from home. While going through the airport, she was on the phone to her son and mentioned she might buy a perfume she likes. When she gets to the perfume section, she googles the perfume to see if the airport is offering her a good deal. Its not, so she doesn't buy it. She arrives at her son's place and starts tagging herself in places in his city, and location data will give away that she's in close proximity to the son.
In the next day or two, the son starts seeing ads for the perfume and is convinced that FB listened in to their phone call. But what actually happened, and was explained by the tech companies as working exactly how it was all intended, is that FB/Google (connected by something called Facebook Pixel) knew she was leaving town, knew she was interested in buying perfume but did not complete an online transaction for it, then knew she was away from home, knew she was all of a sudden in the same approximate location as her son (via their relationship on FB), and knew that by introducing advertisements in her closest social circle's devices would increase the chances that they two would talk about that perfume, keep it visible, and to possibly set off a spark for her family or friends to buy it for her as a gift.
It's basically Inception, but really boring. I think what IS disturbing, and what starts to become apparent is how predictable we have become - how easily we subscribe to trends, even while remaining convinced ourselves that we are individuals that can't be swayed or influenced, and how no matter how niche your interest is, you will be just one representative of a larger worldwide demographic which advertisers just consider a group of identical targets - and in essence they are right. The thought of this is so de-humanising that we would almost far prefer to just think that we are just being listened to.
The gist of it is that FB lumps you into a demographic that is constantly becoming more detailed and specific the more it learns about you. If your friends are in the same demographic (of which there is a good chance), your closeness can be measured based on comparing browsing and shopping histories, shared physical locations at the same time, or tagging yourself at similar places. Now, if following a conversation about some obscure thing, your friend googles that same thing (unbeknownst to you), advertisers will be on that in a second and say "well if this guy is interested enough in watermelon slicing gadgets, his friends who are almost identical in demographic terms will probably also like it".
The example given was a mother in the US who was flying to another city to visit her son. She tagged herself at the airport, giving away that she was travelling away from home. While going through the airport, she was on the phone to her son and mentioned she might buy a perfume she likes. When she gets to the perfume section, she googles the perfume to see if the airport is offering her a good deal. Its not, so she doesn't buy it. She arrives at her son's place and starts tagging herself in places in his city, and location data will give away that she's in close proximity to the son.
In the next day or two, the son starts seeing ads for the perfume and is convinced that FB listened in to their phone call. But what actually happened, and was explained by the tech companies as working exactly how it was all intended, is that FB/Google (connected by something called Facebook Pixel) knew she was leaving town, knew she was interested in buying perfume but did not complete an online transaction for it, then knew she was away from home, knew she was all of a sudden in the same approximate location as her son (via their relationship on FB), and knew that by introducing advertisements in her closest social circle's devices would increase the chances that they two would talk about that perfume, keep it visible, and to possibly set off a spark for her family or friends to buy it for her as a gift.
It's basically Inception, but really boring. I think what IS disturbing, and what starts to become apparent is how predictable we have become - how easily we subscribe to trends, even while remaining convinced ourselves that we are individuals that can't be swayed or influenced, and how no matter how niche your interest is, you will be just one representative of a larger worldwide demographic which advertisers just consider a group of identical targets - and in essence they are right. The thought of this is so de-humanising that we would almost far prefer to just think that we are just being listened to.
Where would I find that pods cast please? I was chatting to our social network fella at work yesterday about who he can target & how selective he can be about who he targets, I walked away after two minutes because it was mind blowingly scary how much we are followed/watched and how much is, often correctly, assumed of us. Cross platform activity brings this home to me. I clicked on a Wayfair link in FB yesterday then low & behold I get the same link in Insta the next time I log in. My missus looks at nests of tables on FB Market place, suddenly my marketplace is full of them. Having seen that CarGuru we’re taking over PH I had a quick look at their website then clicked over to Daily Mail (I know I know) and the whole page was full of CarGuru ads. I’m starting to hate social media & Google, shame really because I’ve grown up with the internet and it’s helped me massively over the years.
You can find it here: https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/109-facebook...
Its far more like two guys chatting in a pub rather than, say, Panorama, but the guys are both ex-IT people and know a fair bit about what they talk about, and consult useful experts when required. And it can be quite funny too.
Its far more like two guys chatting in a pub rather than, say, Panorama, but the guys are both ex-IT people and know a fair bit about what they talk about, and consult useful experts when required. And it can be quite funny too.
Interesting development for all those on this thread who say things like “the Iphone always shows you when an app is using the microphone”
Certainly doesn’t in this supposed “bug”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47037846
Certainly doesn’t in this supposed “bug”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47037846
krunchkin said:
Interesting development for all those on this thread who say things like “the Iphone always shows you when an app is using the microphone”
Certainly doesn’t in this supposed “bug”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47037846
Why's it a "supposed bug" and not just a bug? Have a think about what's in the power of the iOS developers to implement, have a think what a good implementation of a deliberate eavesdropping feature might look like and see if this bug matches up with those two things in mind.Certainly doesn’t in this supposed “bug”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47037846
Throw your tinfoil hat in the bin and make a new one, it's defective
Wrathalanche said:
The podcast "Reply All" did an episode investigating this as best they could, and at least one of the reporters came away convinced that there's no skulduggery or eavesdropping going on, as almost any "coincidence" could be explained away by the well known data harvesting methods that FB and Google are totally open about.
The gist of it is that FB lumps you into a demographic that is constantly becoming more detailed and specific the more it learns about you. If your friends are in the same demographic (of which there is a good chance), your closeness can be measured based on comparing browsing and shopping histories, shared physical locations at the same time, or tagging yourself at similar places. Now, if following a conversation about some obscure thing, your friend googles that same thing (unbeknownst to you), advertisers will be on that in a second and say "well if this guy is interested enough in watermelon slicing gadgets, his friends who are almost identical in demographic terms will probably also like it".
The example given was a mother in the US who was flying to another city to visit her son. She tagged herself at the airport, giving away that she was travelling away from home. While going through the airport, she was on the phone to her son and mentioned she might buy a perfume she likes. When she gets to the perfume section, she googles the perfume to see if the airport is offering her a good deal. Its not, so she doesn't buy it. She arrives at her son's place and starts tagging herself in places in his city, and location data will give away that she's in close proximity to the son.
In the next day or two, the son starts seeing ads for the perfume and is convinced that FB listened in to their phone call. But what actually happened, and was explained by the tech companies as working exactly how it was all intended, is that FB/Google (connected by something called Facebook Pixel) knew she was leaving town, knew she was interested in buying perfume but did not complete an online transaction for it, then knew she was away from home, knew she was all of a sudden in the same approximate location as her son (via their relationship on FB), and knew that by introducing advertisements in her closest social circle's devices would increase the chances that they two would talk about that perfume, keep it visible, and to possibly set off a spark for her family or friends to buy it for her as a gift.
It's basically Inception, but really boring. I think what IS disturbing, and what starts to become apparent is how predictable we have become - how easily we subscribe to trends, even while remaining convinced ourselves that we are individuals that can't be swayed or influenced, and how no matter how niche your interest is, you will be just one representative of a larger worldwide demographic which advertisers just consider a group of identical targets - and in essence they are right. The thought of this is so de-humanising that we would almost far prefer to just think that we are just being listened to.
Excellent post and frankly, this is far more terrifying a prospect than the idea that someone is simply listening in to a conversation and responding to that single piece of information.The gist of it is that FB lumps you into a demographic that is constantly becoming more detailed and specific the more it learns about you. If your friends are in the same demographic (of which there is a good chance), your closeness can be measured based on comparing browsing and shopping histories, shared physical locations at the same time, or tagging yourself at similar places. Now, if following a conversation about some obscure thing, your friend googles that same thing (unbeknownst to you), advertisers will be on that in a second and say "well if this guy is interested enough in watermelon slicing gadgets, his friends who are almost identical in demographic terms will probably also like it".
The example given was a mother in the US who was flying to another city to visit her son. She tagged herself at the airport, giving away that she was travelling away from home. While going through the airport, she was on the phone to her son and mentioned she might buy a perfume she likes. When she gets to the perfume section, she googles the perfume to see if the airport is offering her a good deal. Its not, so she doesn't buy it. She arrives at her son's place and starts tagging herself in places in his city, and location data will give away that she's in close proximity to the son.
In the next day or two, the son starts seeing ads for the perfume and is convinced that FB listened in to their phone call. But what actually happened, and was explained by the tech companies as working exactly how it was all intended, is that FB/Google (connected by something called Facebook Pixel) knew she was leaving town, knew she was interested in buying perfume but did not complete an online transaction for it, then knew she was away from home, knew she was all of a sudden in the same approximate location as her son (via their relationship on FB), and knew that by introducing advertisements in her closest social circle's devices would increase the chances that they two would talk about that perfume, keep it visible, and to possibly set off a spark for her family or friends to buy it for her as a gift.
It's basically Inception, but really boring. I think what IS disturbing, and what starts to become apparent is how predictable we have become - how easily we subscribe to trends, even while remaining convinced ourselves that we are individuals that can't be swayed or influenced, and how no matter how niche your interest is, you will be just one representative of a larger worldwide demographic which advertisers just consider a group of identical targets - and in essence they are right. The thought of this is so de-humanising that we would almost far prefer to just think that we are just being listened to.
Not sure why its terrifying (at least, I'm not feeling it), its pretty obvious what is happening, interlinked computer systems doing what they're supposed to be doing. In some ways its good, and some bad, some of Googles services for example are excellent and do enhance my life in small but meaningful ways. However, on the flipside, you'll always get those who decide they're going to ditch Google for Apple or live in a cave because they're concerned that their really boring life is being spied on in some ways. Their loss, but then in this age of paranoia, I doubt my opinion is a particularly popular one, despite many people not practising what they preach.
TameRacingDriver said:
Not sure why its terrifying (at least, I'm not feeling it), its pretty obvious what is happening, interlinked computer systems doing what they're supposed to be doing. In some ways its good, and some bad, some of Googles services for example are excellent and do enhance my life in small but meaningful ways. However, on the flip-side, you'll always get those who decide they're going to ditch Google for Apple or live in a cave because they're concerned that their really boring life is being spied on in some ways. Their loss, but then in this age of paranoia, I doubt my opinion is a particularly popular one, despite many people not practicing what they preach.
What you seem to miss here, is not that it is worrying that someone knows whether I am in an airport or like Big Macs, I couldn't give two figs about that.What is worrying is the conglomerations of all of that data and the analysis of our personalities and what we respond to. That makes large groups of people easy to manipulate.
That has been around since the dawn of time, but now with the vast amount of data available and the ability to deliver propaganda (for want of a better word) directly to you and those around you, that is truly worrying.
This is already going on, but really understanding how it works is very concerning if like me, you dislike the idea of entire populations being manipulated for someone else's desire.
These tools appear to make that much, much easier than it has ever been and with that sort of power, comes the ability to do some really nasty stuff, as well as the more benign things like advertising products.
Yesterday, my O/H and I had a brief discussion regarding the need to do a new will.
Come yesterday evening, my Facebook presented me with an advert for wills.
The exact same thing happened a few months back when we were discussing electric radiators.
I fail to see how this could remotely be a coincidence.
Come yesterday evening, my Facebook presented me with an advert for wills.
The exact same thing happened a few months back when we were discussing electric radiators.
I fail to see how this could remotely be a coincidence.
TonyRPH said:
Yesterday, my O/H and I had a brief discussion regarding the need to do a new will.
Why did you have that discussion? Was it anything to do with your advancing years or the current global pandemic?The timing is a coincidence, but the fact you had a targeted advert is now.
TonyRPH said:
Yesterday, my O/H and I had a brief discussion regarding the need to do a new will.
Come yesterday evening, my Facebook presented me with an advert for wills.
The exact same thing happened a few months back when we were discussing electric radiators.
I fail to see how this could remotely be a coincidence.
Pick a topic or product which neither of you have discussed before, or searched for online, at all. Something which hasn't become more relevant due to recent events. Have a conversation about that - as a test. (If you want to, natch).Come yesterday evening, my Facebook presented me with an advert for wills.
The exact same thing happened a few months back when we were discussing electric radiators.
I fail to see how this could remotely be a coincidence.
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