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Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

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Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#211

Post by morganvachon »

nutmeg wrote: post #116

Another anecdotal-data-of-sample-size-one, my wife was at a bar and struck up a conversation with another person to whom she had no connections. After she left, Facebook suggested this person as a friend. The other person may have searched for her on Facebook, causing her to be listed as a possible friend. Or perhaps Facebook uses location data to group people that are in the same location for an extended period of t…

A similar instance on my part: I started working at a new job last year, but didn't add that information to my Facebook account or any other online account (even LinkedIn, which I trust even less than FB). Within a week all of my new coworkers started showing up as suggested friends.

Now here's the fun part: My government job has a strict electronic device security policy, and employees are forbidden from carrying cellphones, smart watches, and any other connected devices into the building; I have to leave my phone in the car. So, how does Facebook know that I have new connections with these people? The only thing I can think of is that each of them looked me up on the site after meeting me. Another more insidious thought is that Facebook is using GPS location data to see where I go every morning and depart from every evening and is assuming that it's my new job (Google did this in the past when I had an Android phone and had Google Now enabled, it figured out on its own where my last new job was, but that was a documented "feature").

Either way, Facebook now knows where I work even though I deliberately chose not to tell them.

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#212

Post by astazangasta »

eunoia wrote: post #174
astazangasta wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this possible even in principle? Location tracking might be one explanation - they certainly have access to the data - but it seems implausible for Facebook to be suggesting you friend every goddamn person you walk past. They couldn't have known you thought she was attractive, so what gives?

Healthy skepticism aside, > They couldn't have known you thought she was attractive Are you so sure? To me (no ML experience) that seems a somewhat solvable problem if you have a competency in ML and Facebook's data. Just imagine if Tinder shared data back...

So, since people largely agree on who is attractive, does this mean FB would be recommended this poor lady to all the schlubby loners who wander through her checkout line? "The digital pimp, hard at work."

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#213

Post by ag_47 »

cylinder wrote: post #127
nutmeg wrote: post #116

Another anecdotal-data-of-sample-size-one, my wife was at a bar and struck up a conversation with another person to whom she had no connections. After she left, Facebook suggested this person as a friend. The other person may have searched for her on Facebook, causing her to be listed as a possible friend. Or perhaps Facebook uses location data to group people that are in the same location for an extended period of t…

Why do people keep the Facebook app installed? I use it in the web browser and it works just fine, while sort of sandboxing it within Chrome.

Ditto. You can even get notifications from Chrome, and the facebook website supports it. Chat is by far the biggest hassle, but I'm willing to pay the price. I see the slightly degraded experience as a good incentive to not go on Facebook as often.

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#214

Post by joshstrange »

brightshiny wrote: post #209
joshstrange wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So honestly it's best use case is "gotcha". As in you didn't know I was recording and you said something stupid and now I have a recording. Likewise if you are talking to someone and you say something along the lines of "Are you sure about that?" or "Can you confirm this is what/how you want me to do this" and then you record the audio for later incase they come back and say "I never said that". For myself I went the…

What is STT?

Speech to Text

Transcribing audio to text

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#215

Post by beagle3 »

ma2rten wrote: post #106
mtgx wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And every time they say "Whoopsie, it was just a bug - we'll fix it!". And then they don't. Or they come back 3 years later and say "Hey everyone, remember that 'bug' you caught earlier? We're going to make it into a beautiful feature now!".

Do you have an example where that hapend?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/10/facebook-...

Google for "Facebook privacy European bug", and choose your preferred outlet (wsj, rt, tnw - I prefer the guardian)

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#216

Post by Qiasfah »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #177
cylinder wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people keep the Facebook app installed? I use it in the web browser and it works just fine, while sort of sandboxing it within Chrome.

Because my phone wont let me uninstall it [0] and it's not just on my specific phone, other manufacturers do the same. I also cannot uninstall Amazon or the 5 other completely useless apps it brings, Facebook Messenger and Instagram are ingrained into my phone which is annoying. I wish rooting and setting up a custom ROM wasn't a painful experience or I would do both, but I like getting updates, which rooting stops,…

Have you tried disabling the apps instead of uninstalling them?

I've had good luck with this on stock roms when you can't uninstall the carrier's apps. Settings » Apps » All » Application Name » Disable

Technically the app is still there, but it can't be launched and doesn't appear in the list of apps.

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#217

Post by clavalle »

astazangasta wrote: post #212
eunoia wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthy skepticism aside, > They couldn't have known you thought she was attractive Are you so sure? To me (no ML experience) that seems a somewhat solvable problem if you have a competency in ML and Facebook's data. Just imagine if Tinder shared data back...

So, since people largely agree on who is attractive, does this mean FB would be recommended this poor lady to all the schlubby loners who wander through her checkout line? "The digital pimp, hard at work."

Probably only the ones that meet her rough demographic profile.

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#218

Post by lucasmullens »

cylinder wrote: post #127
nutmeg wrote: post #116

Another anecdotal-data-of-sample-size-one, my wife was at a bar and struck up a conversation with another person to whom she had no connections. After she left, Facebook suggested this person as a friend. The other person may have searched for her on Facebook, causing her to be listed as a possible friend. Or perhaps Facebook uses location data to group people that are in the same location for an extended period of t…

Why do people keep the Facebook app installed? I use it in the web browser and it works just fine, while sort of sandboxing it within Chrome.

And it's only getting better now with PWA features

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#219

Post by superuser2 »

eric_h wrote: post #171
madmax96 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd be interesting if there were a party with a JailBroken iPhone and the Facebook App installed who would check the network traffic.

Would a jailbreak really be necessary for this? Couldn't you just install a certificate on the phone and MitM the https traffic?

Not if the app is certificate pinning (and from a security perspective, it ought to).

Re: Is Facebook eavesdropping on phone conversations?

#220

Post by EdHominem »

imbeau wrote: post #169
joshstrange wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So honestly it's best use case is "gotcha". As in you didn't know I was recording and you said something stupid and now I have a recording. Likewise if you are talking to someone and you say something along the lines of "Are you sure about that?" or "Can you confirm this is what/how you want me to do this" and then you record the audio for later incase they come back and say "I never said that". For myself I went the…

Besides the creepiness, the law around recording people without them knowing (one-party consent) is state-by-state

As for creepiness, you know what's creepy? People saying something and then lying about it later.

You'll be happy having the audio even if there are restrictions. Simply don't tell anyone about it until the benefits (saving your ass) outweigh the drawbacks (potential charges).

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