If you suspected Facebook was eavesdropping on your phone conversations in order to serve you more “targeted” advertising, you were right. A Cambridge Analytica whistleblower confirms Facebook has the ability to listen to your phone conversations.
Former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie, who appeared before a British investigative committee on Tuesday, said Facebook has the ability to listen to what people are talking about in order to better target them with ads.
Wylie also confirmed that other apps “pull audio… for environmental context.”
The committee called on Wylie to testify after a British data analytics firm reportedly harvested the data of 51 million Facebook users to give Donald Trump’s presidential campaign an edge over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Since the data scandal broke, millions of Facebook users, including numerous celebrities, have deleted their Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger apps.
Consumers who have newer Android phones find that Facebook and Twitter apps are pre-installed on their phones as system apps so they can’t be deleted. But those apps can still be disabled in Settings.
Tech gurus also suggest denying microphone access to all apps on your phone in Settings.
1. Go to Settings
2. Tap “APPS” or “App permissions”
3. Tap “Microphone”
4. Find Facebook (or any app), and turn the slider to OFF
Facebook has lost nearly $100 billion in stock value since the scandal broke.
Stock photo by Peathegee Inc / Getty Images
