Instagram’s CEO and president, Adam Mosseri, attempted to set the record straight about whether Meta eavesdrops on its users to push targeted advertisements.
On Wednesday (Oct. 1), Mosseri shared a “myth-busting” video on Instagram to dispel speculation, according to the Verge.
“I swear, we do not listen to your microphone,” Mosseri said in the clip, saying if the tech company did, then that would be “a gross violation of privacy.”
He also explained that if Meta did use your phone’s microphone, a green dot would appear at the top of users' screen, and phone batteries would die quickly.
Mosseri shared more reasons as to why users see targeted ads, which included interacting with the content online or on a website.
"We actually do work with advertisers who share information with us about who was on their website to try to target those people with ads," he said.
The exec also said the app’s algorithm pushes ads it thinks the user will find interesting. Those interests are based on what users' friends like or what people with similar interests also like.
And finally, Mosseri, certain content doesn’t just pop up because users talked about it.
"You might have actually seen that ad before you had the conversation and not realized it… We scroll by ads quickly, and sometimes you internalize some of that, and that actually affects what you talk about later," Mosseri said.
He added, “I know some of you are just not going to believe me, no matter how much I try to explain it.”
Mosseri’s video arrived the same day that Meta announced it will employ AI chats to personalize ads and content to those using Meta AI. This feature will go live on Facebook and Instagram as soon as Dec. 16, per Reuters. Meta will notify users of the change on Oct. 7, and there is no choice to opt out.
