Is Instagram REALLY listening? Meta is once again battling one of the most persistent conspiracy theories of the digital age – that Instagram and Facebook are secretly listening to your conversations via microphones just to serve you those annoyingly accurate ads. In a video on the platform, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, claimed that this is not true, and explained why we think the ads know what we just talked about. But honestly, Adam, can you really sell us this fairy tale without a shred of doubt?
Have you ever had the feeling that your phone knows what you just talked about with your friends? That that ad for that new jacket or exotic vacation on Instagram is no coincidence, but a conspiracy by tech giants? Meta is once again battling one of the most persistent conspiracy theories of the digital age – that Instagram and Facebook are secretly listening to your conversations via microphone, just to serve you those annoyingly accurate ads. Is Instagram REALLY listening? In a video on the platform, Adam Mosseri, the boss of Instagram, claimed that this is not true, and explained why we think that ads know what we just talked about. But honestly, Adam, can you really sell us this fairy tale without a shred of doubt? Let's see how Meta explains these "miraculous" ads - and whether we can believe them.
“The microphone is off, I swear!”
Mosseri is clear: wiretapping would not only be a terrible invasion of privacy, but also a technical disaster. Your phone's battery would drain faster than your patience listening to a voicemail that's too long, and the microphone would constantly flash a light that would be hard to miss. So why that feeling that an ad for a new coffee machine is chasing you before you even say the word "espresso"?
According to him, the reasons are completely logical:
- Forgetfulness: You may have already browsed for something you're interested in and simply forgot about it. But algorithms have a memory like an elephant - they never forget.
- Friends are to blame: Meta also collects data about the interests of your friends or people who are similar to you. If your coworker dreams of taking a pottery class, don't be surprised if Instagram offers you a discount on clay pots.
- Your subconscious is playing tricks on you.: Sometimes you see an ad before conversation, but your brain pushes it to the background. When you talk about electric scooters later, it feels like your phone has betrayed you.
- Pure coincidence: Sometimes everything really is just a cosmic joke. It's as if the universe just for fun coordinated your conversation and the ad.
Mosseri insists that Meta doesn't need your microphone to know what you want. But let's be honest - do you really believe him 100%, or do you still hear that quiet whisper of doubt in the background?
Skeptics aren't giving up – and they have reason to – Is Instagram REALLY listening?
Despite these clarifications, doubts remain. Meta recently announced that it would use conversations with its AI assistant to personalize ads. If they can do it legally, why bother with secret wiretapping? But Meta's history isn't exactly stellar when it comes to trust.
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In 2017, Facebook had to deny similar allegations when Rob Goldman, then head of advertising, insisted that the platform never uses microphones for advertising. A year later, Mark Zuckerberg repeated the same thing before the US Congress, in the midst of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the investigation into Russian influence in the election. It was as if he were being defended by a strict teacher, where he was making excuses that he “did nothing”.
Suspicions were further fueled by a 2023 presentation by Cox Media Group, which touted its “Active Listening” program, supposedly capable of targeting ads based on private conversations captured through the microphones of smartphones and other devices. Google and Meta were mentioned as clients, but Cox denied it, and Google quickly ended the partnership. If that’s not at least a little suspicious, then maybe you believe in unicorns and free lunches. Is Instagram REALLY listening?
Trust? It's rarer in the digital age than an honest political campaign
The story beautifully illustrates how fragile the trust between us and the tech giants is. No matter how many times Meta swears it's not listening, the feeling that someone is listening to us—or at least watching us very closely—remains. Maybe it's time to wrap our phones in aluminum foil, or simply accept that privacy in 2025 is more myth than reality.