WARNING! Instagram secretly listens to your conversations

[AintDutchNotMuch]

Two days ago I lost my bicycle lock (thankfully found it later). I was at my parents place talking to them about how I would need to go to a bike repair shop to break the lock. An hour later I'm home and I see an ad on Instagram for a bicycle lock repair company in the city I live in.

I NEVER googled it only talked about it with my parents. The thing is, the iPhone 8 that I had with me never had the Instagram app or Facebook app installed on it. I have another phone (6s Plus) that was in my home that has Instagram. The phone that has Instagram wasn't with me when I was talking about the lock. Both iPhones have the same Apple ID. Also the phone was in my front pocket the whole time we were talking. I think it was through WhatsApp that they could hear me (I had microphone permission for WhatsApp switched on but not anymore after this).

As many of you know WhatsApp and Instagram are both part of Zuckerberg's evil company with dirty tactics to invade our privacy. I switched from Android to iOS hoping iOS is more secure and I still tink it is, but this was very disappointing to me.

I googled it and there are more cases of people being spied on through the microphone.
I wanted to share this on this forum, because I think what they're doing is not a good thing, to put it mildly.

https://medium.com/@damln/instagram-is-listening-to-you-97e8f2c53023

 

[C DM]

Well, so far it sounds more like some (perhaps weird) coincidence than anything else, especially since you don't even have Instagram installed on your phone.

As far as the included YouTube video of a "test", who really knows what happens there. They say that because they talk about cat food that's what it is, but we have no idea if they typed it in somewhere or did something else (despite them saying that they didn't)--that's not how testing actually works (and conveniently that YouTube video has ads enabled too).

 

[AintDutchNotMuch]

View attachment 745248

Well, so far it sounds more like some (perhaps weird) coincidence than anything else, especially since you don't even have Instagram installed on your phone.

As far as the included YouTube video of a "test", who really knows what happens there. They say that because they talk about cat food that's what it is, but we have no idea if they typed it in somewhere or did something else (despite them saying that they didn't)--that's not how testing actually works (and conveniently that YouTube video has ads enabled too).

I honestly don't believe it's some coincidence because I've had this experience earlier, watching some commercial on tv and later I see an ad about it on Instagram. The YouTube video and the link that I've posted have a lot of comments from people complaining and who are freaked out about these creepy ads. From the first day that I've installed Instagram on my 6s Plus I have disabled microphone and camera permissions by the way. Makes it even more creepy.

It really is disgusting knowing that your phone is on standby in your pocket and still everything you say is being tracked and used to send ads to you later on.

Here's an example of someone who had a similar experience of being spied on through the microphone:

 

[C DM]

It really is disgusting knowing that your phone is on standby in your pocket and still everything you say is being tracked an words are used to send ads to you later on.

The thing is that it's not really something that is actually known or really demonstrated well. There are certainly all kind of anecdotal cases, as there are when it comes to all kinds of things throughout history. It's not to say that it can't be happening on some level somehow, but it's to say that so far it's hard to simply say for sure that that's what's actually happening and that's that.

 

[Jtludwig]

View attachment 745248

I honestly don't believe it's some coincidence because I've had this experience earlier, watching some commercial on tv and later I see an ad about it on Instagram. The YouTube video and the link that I've posted have a lot of comments from people complaining and who are freaked out about these creepy ads. From the first day that I've installed Instagram on my 6s Plus I have disabled microphone and camera permissions by the way. Makes it even more creepy.

It really is disgusting knowing that your phone is on standby in your pocket and still everything you say is being tracked and used to send ads to you later on.

Here's an example of someone who had a similar experience of being spied on through the microphone:

View attachment 745249

Look out! They’re trying to control your mind!

 

[rafark]

Highly unlikely (read: pretty much imposible, even more so in dutch). I think you might've googled or written about it and that's how you got tracked.

 

[tarsins]

I'd say coincidence. They happen a lot only we don't tend to notice. If you hadn't broken your bicycle lock the advert would likely still have been there only you wouldn't have noticed it.

 

[Winterfibre]

I read many other stories were instergram has done the same to them, google it.

 

[AintDutchNotMuch]

I read many other stories were instergram has done the same to them, google it.

That's exactly why I've posted a link to a website about the topic and a link to a YouTube video too. In the comments of the website article there are a lot of people who have had the same experience with talking about something and later finding it in their ads, without ever having searched for it on Google. But I guess it's all a coincidence then, like others have posted. So many coincidences, quite fascinating.

 

[RockhopperTM]

I use to think things like this were nonsense and that advert tracking online was part and parcel of digital life. Until I was on holiday last year!

Sitting at a restaurant I remember two parts of a conversation I was having with my wife. One was about the use of Ikea furniture in part of the restaurant and the other was about the fact they didn't sell San Miguel beer.

When I got back to the apartment I ended up browsing Instagram and noticed an advert for Ikea and San Miguel. I know I did not Google either of them and hadn't done so in the past weeks. (I had no need to search for either). Remembering some of the wild stories, I checked and Instagram did not not have access to the phone's microphone, so I put it down to one of life's weird and wild coincidences.

However, I've read more and more about this, and do keep noticing advertisements where I think, I've never searched for that on any of my devices but have been around conversations about them.

Now I do have WhatsApp on my phone....I've just disabled it's access to the microphone (only use it for texts)...and reached for the tin foil hat

 

[Laowai184]

I'd like to add an anecdote if I may. Last October, I came back to the UK after spending a couple of months in the US visiting my sister and her family.

I was sitting on my British Airways plane at San Francisco waiting to leave for London, and thought I'd quickly check my Instagram before having to turn on airplane mode. There, in my feed, was an advert for British Airways flights from Oakland to London. Naturally, I'd been talking about my flight in the hours/days running up to my leaving.

Instagram was deleted from my phone after that.

 

[sracer]

That's exactly why I've posted a link to a website about the topic and a link to a YouTube video too. In the comments of the website article there are a lot of people who have had the same experience with talking about something and later finding it in their ads, without ever having searched for it on Google. But I guess it's all a coincidence then, like others have posted. So many coincidences, quite fascinating.

Ignore the naysayers. It is absolutely not a coincidence. My wife and i ran a few tests because we experienced the same thing with the Facebook app on the iphone.

Facebook app installed on both of our phones but not running, nor in the background. with our phones with us, we had a conversation about dogs. we don’t own any dogs, never posted or commented on facebook about dogs, never did any google searches about dogs, and within 36 hours there were ads for dog products in our facebook timelines.

When we told others about it, they brushed it off as coincidence, so we tried another test... this time using a phrase not connected to anything... “beer-making kit”. The same conditions and the same outcome. Im not interested in convincing anyone, but if you’re experiencing this too, know that you are not alone.

 

[upandown]

I totally believe it. A few years ago the concept was theorized. I knew it was only a matter of time. Its been reported multiple times as a marketing tool and I think it's more prevalent than we realize. With probably no end in sight..

 

[bruinsrme]

I said dog food 15 time over a 3 minute period. 11 minutes later

 

[artfossil]

I think I’m safe. Most days so try not to break the human barrier. And the classes I teach have no product placement mentions or opportunities.

That leaves my conversations with Z the cat.

 

[sparksd]

Makes me glad I don't have Instagram or Facebook installed on any device I own.

 

[C DM]

Ignore the naysayers. It is absolutely not a coincidence. My wife and i ran a few tests because we experienced the same thing with the Facebook app on the iphone.

Facebook app installed on both of our phones but not running, nor in the background. with our phones with us, we had a conversation about dogs. we don’t own any dogs, never posted or commented on facebook about dogs, never did any google searches about dogs, and within 36 hours there were ads for dog products in our facebook timelines.

When we told others about it, they brushed it off as coincidence, so we tried another test... this time using a phrase not connected to anything... “beer-making kit”. The same conditions and the same outcome. Im not interested in convincing anyone, but if you’re experiencing this too, know that you are not alone.

So how would it work with Instagram when that wasn't even installed?
[doublepost=1515390290][/doublepost]

View attachment 745778 I said dog food 15 time over a 3 minute period. 11 minutes later

I don't have or talk about dogs yet see ads of that nature here and there (along with all kinds of others).

 

[sracer]

So how would it work with Instagram when that wasn't even installed?

The OP said that they didn't have Instagram installed but did have WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are all owned by Facebook. All of those apps are monitoring users... obviously when the apps are being used, but also when they're not. The data that is mined is shared across those apps.

 

[ipo]

when the apps are being used, but also when they're not.

There's a humongous amount of data, which gets more & more interlinked. It doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of a spy microphone. Information could've leaked somewhere else. There's so much data because of the massive number of folks who love their own state of ignorant bliss, love it for life. And statistically speaking there's no way around this.
What strikes me most is how cheeky a man with power could get.

 

[C DM]

The OP said that they didn't have Instagram installed but did have WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are all owned by Facebook. All of those apps are monitoring users... obviously when the apps are being used, but also when they're not. The data that is mined is shared across those apps.

Interesting theory.

 

[sracer]

There's a humongous amount of data, which gets more & more interlinked. It doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of a spy microphone. Information could've leaked somewhere else. There's so much data because of the massive number of folks who love their own state of ignorant bliss, love it for life. And statistically speaking there's no way around this.
What strikes me most is how cheeky a man with power could get.

While that may be true in other scenarios, I have observed on more than one occasion that it could only come from picking up spoken conversation.

There is absolutely nothing in my browsing history, search engine searches, online purchase history, youtube viewing, social media posts, email, text messages, ANYTHING that any algorithm could use that would select "beer-making kit" as a viable ad option... EXCEPT for snooping on a deliberate conversation that I had with my wife with my phone present. (showing up only after 24-36 hours after the conversation)

Skeptics are free to think that it is coincidence.

 

[TonyC28]

This has happened to me and my wife with Facebook. I’m 100% convinced they’re listening.

 

[TiggrToo]

Anyone here want to explain just how Instagram is meant to listen in when the app doesn't ask for Microphone permissions? Or have they magically discovered a way around that?

Jeez sheeple, just because you read something on the Internet doesn't make it true!

 

[Analog Kid]

One of the strengths of machine learning is the ability to recognize patterns and draw inferences. It's entirely possible that you didn't type "bicycle repair" and that the Facebook gnomes weren't listening to your mic, but still figured out you had bike issues. Tracking your location, tracking your friends and followers conversations, other behaviors may have tipped off the Great Oz.

You can check the cellular data usage of your apps. If it's listening to your mic, it must be constantly feeding that data back home. Does your data usage reflect that? If not, then they're monitoring the online behavior of you and your relationship graph.

Advertisers still seem to think this kind of thing is useful to the consumer and haven't wrapped their heads around the fact that faceless entities knowing our business is creepy AF.

 

[C DM]

Anyone here want to explain just how Instagram is meant to listen in when the app doesn't ask for Microphone permissions? Or have they magically discovered a way around that?

Jeez sheeple, just because you read something on the Internet doesn't make it true!

I believe it does if you go to record video. That said, in case of what OP posted, the app wasn't even installed.