Here’s a creepy scene that’s being reported more and more often: Immediately after a private, personal conversation, an online ad pops up on your computer or smartphone for the very thing you were discussing. Just a coincidence?
The other night, it happened to my husband and me: With my smartphone in hand, we were discussing vacation plans and airfares. Within minutes, resort and airline ads for our destination appeared on the screen.
People swear Facebook listens to their conversations and fighting back in strange ways
Now, from a technical standpoint, Facebook and many other apps have full access to your smartphone’s microphone, even if the app is not running. So yes, snooping can easily be done. But Big Tech — especially Facebook — deny doing it.
Frankly, I don’t believe them. Another 50 percent of the public doesn’t either.
Time to break up with Facebook
Even though you can change what apps have access to the smartphone’s microphone, most people are not willing to make those changes.