Facebook Partner Says Phone Apps Spy on Users for Adverts

An advertising partner of Facebook has confirmed something that many people around the world have long suspected – that the company makes money by spying on its users.

People are probably no longer surprised when they see advertisements for products they have just talked or written about.

Recently, reports confirmed that Facebook has “active listening” software, to better serve its advertising partners.

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“Cox Media Group (CMG) says it can target adverts based on what potential customers said out loud near their device [phone] microphones, and explicitly points to Facebook, Google, Amazon and Bing as CMG partners, according to a CMG presentation obtained by 404 Media,” the report posted on August 26 said.

The report cites documents leaked to 404 reporters that “active listening” software, which is said to use a form of artificial intelligence to “capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations”.

The documents refer to a “pitch deck” from Cox Media Group – a TV and radio group that is reported to be one of Facebook’s marketing partners.

The software is able to “capture voice data from a smartphone device that can then be paired with behavioural data on the individual” and use for targeted advertisements.

CMG stated that Amazon, Facebook and Google are clients of the ‘active listening’ software. But Google allegedly “removed CMG from its Partner Programme” after the 404 Media report was published, according to a report this week by the tech website Tweaktown.