Facebook partner acknowledges that smartphone microphones record audio in order to improve ad serving

A recent report suggests that one of Facebook’s advertising partners has acknowledged monitoring people’s conversations through their smartphones to deliver personalized ads.

Have you ever found yourself chatting about a specific topic, only to later notice an ad for that very thing on your phone?

The timing of these personalized ads on social media, especially on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, can be quite unsettling. It’s particularly striking when there’s just a brief moment between finishing a conversation about a product and suddenly seeing it pop up in your feed. This has guided many to wonder: “Are social media companies using our phone microphones to listen in on our conversations for ad targeting?”

According to a new report from 404 Media, which references leaked documents, there is “Active Listening” software that employs artificial intelligence to “capture real-time intent data by eavesdropping on our conversations.” The documents include a pitch deck from Cox Media Group (CMG), a major player in TV and radio, which is reportedly one of Facebook’s marketing partners.

The pitch deck illustrates how CMG utilizes its “Active Listening” software to gather voice data from smartphones, which can then be combined with individual behavioral data to refine targeted advertising. Interestingly, CMG mentioned that clients of this software include Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Following the release of the 404 Media report, Google has removed CMG from its Partner Program.

This action prompted Meta to start reviewing its partnership with CMG to determine if any terms of service have been breached.

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