Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras

#211

Post by kyberias » Sun, Sep 20, 2020, 9:26 AM UTC

can16358p wrote: post #9

Don't want to be the devil's advocate here but just because camera is on doesn't mean anything is being recorded. As an iOS developer who worked with apps that access camera frequently, I can confidently say that it's just a UX optimization. Starting the camera takes a brief few hundred milliseconds which is easily noticable from a user perspective. By keeping the camera ready, they are making the experience smoother…

Yes. For example, Webex on Windows seems to keep the camera on (led lit) even though I'm not in a call. Irritating. One more reason why I don't love that software. Teams (and many others) handle the camera correctly.

Re: Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras

#212

Post by CaptArmchair » Sun, Sep 20, 2020, 1:00 PM UTC

yoz-y wrote: post #118

CaptArmchair wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don't want to be the devil's advocate here but just because camera is on doesn't mean anything is being recorded. This is about consumer trust. To the vast majority of consumers, a smartphone is a magic box with a lens and a display. What happens inside - how data is stored and processed, how the OS functions, how apps work,... - has been abstracted away behind those "UX optimized" interfaces you just mentioned. Co…

> So, next time you're in public, try to pay attention to this: how many people have taped off the camera of their devices? I usually do pay attention and so far I have seen one person with a camera taped over. This is just not a thing, no matter how the media wants it to be.

You're talking about this person, right?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102910644965951&se...

Re: Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras

#213

Post by haburka » Sun, Sep 20, 2020, 3:56 PM UTC

higerordermap wrote: post #201

wheybags wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this was the case, they wouldn't have claimed it was a bug. Besides, big tech companies have lost the benefit of the doubt.

Tangentially related. Big tech (FB, Google etc..) used to be favourite workplaces for programmers. Now what are the exciting workspaces for engineers considering big tech is doing lot of unethical things?

Everyone will have a different experience - it’s difficult to fathom the scale of how much work is being done at these companies from the outside.

Consumers often have the mistaken assumption that they know what a large tech company is basically doing. In reality, there are thousands of projects, most of which you’ll never hear about.

In my experience people are more affected by their manager and working group than the company clashing with their ideals.