

“We show ads based on people’s interests and other profile information - not what you’re talking out loud about. “Some recent articles have suggested that we must be listening to people’s conversations in order to show them relevant ads. “Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed,” a company spokesperson said. But is it true?įacebook has been very clear about the matter, and says it isn’t using microphone recordings to target ads better. Users figure Facebook is using your phone’s microphone to listen in on real-world conversations - to help target ads. These users claim they’ve never searched for this sort of content before, and the only possible explanation is snooping. Many Facebook users say they’ve spoken about something out loud, only for related ads to appear on the app soon after. Just last year, the iPhone camera alert sparked fears that Instagram was secretly filming users - but it was just a bug. Google / Android Snooping fearsįears that apps are snooping on you have been around for years. Google / Android You can specifically turn off camera and microphone access across the handset. Google is warning millions of Android users when apps might be spying on them. You can deny specific apps access to your microphone or camera, for instance.Īnd if you’re really worried, you could just delete the app altogether. If you suspect something is up, you should check the app’s permissions in Settings.

So make sure you’re using Android 12, and that you stay wary of any foul play. Sometimes an app genuinely needs to use your camera - like Instagram.īut if you notice that your camera is being used by a strange app, it could mean you’re being spied on.Ĭyber experts have uncovered countless apps that have inappropriate access to the camera on Android phones. It’s worth remembering that seeing an icon doesn’t mean anything nefarious is going on. It’s also now possible to entirely deactivate your microphone and camera across the entire phone in your Quick Settings. That information is available in the new Privacy Dashboard inside Settings. You can also see a rolling log of which apps have access your camera, microphone or location - and when. It prevents apps from surreptitiously listening in - or even watching through your camera. You’ll see a camera or microphone icon when an app attempts to access either. The new indicator appears in the top right corner of the screen. So if you don’t have that, you won’t be able to see it. The Google feature was added to phones in the latest Android 12 update. It’s very similar to a warning that already exists on Apple’s rival iPhone. The new feature alerts users when the microphone or camera has been activated. Stunning photos show total solar eclipse over Antarctica as moon completely covers the sun My Tinder date took me back to his flat but his bathroom revealed a grim secret My Google phone blocked me from calling ambulanceĪpple to let people fix their own iPhones for the first time – and they’ll even send you the repair tools
