Facebook is eavesdropping?

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

The setting:

 

GF is a home-visit physical therapist and a heavy facebook user on her iPhone.  She works with sick/injured people in their homes and travels to many homes throughout the day.  She needs to use her iPhone throughout the visits to take notes and schedule future visits.

 

The problem:

 

She noticed that she started receiving facebook ads targeting specific ailments that she has verbally discussed with her patients while performing home visits.

 

We talked about it and theorized it might be due to GPS/location services (Facebook app determining she was at the home of a person with a specific ailment).  If that's the case, then it's not a problem because my GF's interaction with the patients would not be the source of the information for the ads.

 

However, we're now convinced that facebook is eavesdropping on her conversations.  She was talking with a patient last Friday and the patient mentioned a restaurant that my GF had never heard of, been to, spoken about, or searched for.  Later that day after leaving the patients' house she started seeing ads for that restaurant.

 

Besides being annoying and creepy, she's worried that there might be possible HIPAA violations if conversations she's having with patients are monitored by an unauthorized 3rd party (facebook).

 

I've been searching to see if there is a way to prevent facebook from accessing the microphone on an iOS10 iPhone, and have been through both the iPhone settings and the facebook app settings without success.  I did see instructions on disallowing microphone access related to song identification on iOS 9, but nothing current.

 

Anyone know if this is still possible, or if facebook has "memory holed" the ability to restrict access to the microphone?

[Malsua 1,422]

The setting:

 

GF is a home-visit physical therapist and a heavy facebook user on her iPhone.  She works with sick/injured people in their homes and travels to many homes throughout the day.  She needs to use her iPhone throughout the visits to take notes and schedule future visits.

 

The problem:

 

She noticed that she started receiving facebook ads targeting specific ailments that she has verbally discussed with her patients while performing home visits.

 

We talked about it and theorized it might be due to GPS/location services (Facebook app determining she was at the home of a person with a specific ailment).  If that's the case, then it's not a problem because my GF's interaction with the patients would not be the source of the information for the ads.

 

However, we're now convinced that facebook is eavesdropping on her conversations.  She was talking with a patient last Friday and the patient mentioned a restaurant that my GF had never heard of, been to, spoken about, or searched for.  Later that day after leaving the patients' house she started seeing ads for that restaurant.

 

Besides being annoying and creepy, she's worried that there might be possible HIPAA violations if conversations she's having with patients are monitored by an unauthorized 3rd party (facebook).

 

I've been searching to see if there is a way to prevent facebook from accessing the microphone on an iOS10 iPhone, and have been through both the iPhone settings and the facebook app settings without success.  I did see instructions on disallowing microphone access related to song identification on iOS 9, but nothing current.

 

Anyone know if this is still possible, or if facebook has "memory holed" the ability to restrict access to the microphone?

 

 

It's probably location.  You are at a location that recently purchased diabetic supplies, chances are you might be the one who needs them or buys them....so you get an AD for that.

 

You should probably do some testing.   Start talking about something no one she visits has...like pregnancy or maybe Hepatitis C or something like that. 

 

As for plonking the microphone...I don't know.  Their privacy controls are markedly byzantine in nature.   They are clearly designed to make it easier to just let them have access to everything.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

...

You should probably do some testing.   Start talking about something no one she visits has...like pregnancy or maybe Hepatitis C or something like that. 

...

 

 

Re-read my post please.  The restaurant conversation satisfies the conditions of the proposed test.

[Frank Rizzo 59]

Just more reason to get the app off your phone. 

[SW9racer 262]

Don't use the faceboks apps. Use something like iCabMobile where you have isolated generic usage.

Do you have hey-siri active? Maybe facebok is intercepting the open mic. I had my wife stop using the app when they were caught leaving a white-noise song playing in the background so you could not stop the monitoring.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Just more reason to get the app off your phone. 

 

Believe me, I agree, I &^&$%'ing hate that weasel of a company that's managed to turn personal relationships into highway billboards.  I'm on android and I use "Tinfoil for facebook", a non-facebook facebook app.

 

But she's not giving it up.  Too much social life tied into it.

[T Bill 649]

We as a nation are being so manipulated by new technology it is amazing and disgusting.  The "real" owners of this nation have created a new serfdom without the populace even knowing.  

 

[Malsua 1,422]

Re-read my post please.  The restaurant conversation satisfies the conditions of the proposed test.

 

I did...again, if a person at 45 oak street visited Geno's Chicken shack, then her phone now visits 45 Oak street...the link is made.

 

Every address gets meta data associated with it.   You visit that address, you now are suitable for that advertisement.

 

You need to isolate the data to prove it.    Pick a place or something neither of you have been to or used, talk extensively about it, repeat the name over and over...then see what happens.

 

Like Band-aid.   "I need a band aid" "band aid"  Yeah, get me a Band aid. etc.  see if you get ads for CVS and / or band aids.

[Malice4you 627]

Just more reason to get the app off your phone. 

There are apps pre-installed on phones as part of deals that the carrier makes, and they are hard or impossible to remove without rooting the phone, at least in my experience.  There are some apps, like yellowpages or uber, that came on my last 2 phones, and there is no option to totally remove them, only revert it or disable them.  Thanks for wasting my phone space, AT&T (so I go buy the 128GB model next time instead of the basic model, I guess).

 

With at least android 6+, if you go into SETTINGS > APPLICATION MANAGER > [whatever app] - there are controls for what that app can do, like PERMISSIONS for the facebook app has access to calendar, camera, contacts, location, microphone, phone, sms, and storage.  I have mine all disallowed except for storage.  The NOTIFICATIONS tab has the ability to disable toolbar notifications.

 

Those are useful features if an app does annoying shit that can make them less annoying. 

 

I never got around to rooting my phone like I said I would after my warranty was up.  That would allow way more control over everything, though probably more of a hassle than most want to deal with.

[Cereza 106]

Facebook (and others, including Hotmail), gave themselves the right in the TOS to scan your private messages for purposes of advertising years ago. I don't recall them giving themselves the right to monitor conversations, but it could be they do it passively via helper apps such as Siri and the stupid #$%@ing "OK Google" which are near impossible to turn off.

[bhunted 887]

Recently weird stuff here too. I don't release my exact birthday anywhere on facefook plus my security is totally private except for family and friends. Yet just recently, t-shirt ads started popping up with an offer. Something like my year month an age were on the photo of the shirt. Everyone sees their own Birth info but if its blocked or incomplete, how? They are harvesting shit somehow. Pissing me off. Another thing is stuff I purchased on Amazon are popping up on facefook too. Wtf!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

I did...again, if a person at 45 oak street visited Geno's Chicken shack, then her phone now visits 45 Oak street...the link is made.

 

Every address gets meta data associated with it.   You visit that address, you now are suitable for that advertisement.

 

You need to isolate the data to prove it.    Pick a place or something neither of you have been to or used, talk extensively about it, repeat the name over and over...then see what happens.

 

Like Band-aid.   "I need a band aid" "band aid"  Yeah, get me a Band aid. etc.  see if you get ads for CVS and / or band aids.

 

Hrmm, I'm going to guess that the patient who mentioned the restaurant is old enough to not have/understand how to use a smartphone, so likely there is no previous phone that visited the restaurant, but I'll confirm with the GF.

[Zeke 5,504]

Hrmm, I'm going to guess that the patient who mentioned the restaurant is old enough to not have/understand how to use a smartphone, so likely there is no previous phone that visited the restaurant, but I'll confirm with the GF.

Could have been a relative or friend of client/ patient. Addy is pinged

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Checked in with the GF.  Patient does have a smartiephone.  Was last at the restaurant over a week ago.  Ads appear on GF's phone several hours after restaurant mentioned in conversation.

 

So it's possible that it's just location based, but the timing is sure suspect.

[panteramatt 27]

I seriously think so many people would kill themselves if Facebook went down for a day. I just dont get it. 

[ogfarmer 138]

google is also set to eavesdrop, record all our locations etc..you have to go in and disable all these features.

 

Google voice search records and keeps conversations people have around their phones – but the files can be deleted

Just talking is enough to activate the recordings – but thankfully there's an easy way of hearing and deleting them

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-voice-search-records-stores-conversation-people-have-around-their-phones-but-files-can-be-a7059376.html?cmpid=facebook-post

 

I turned off these features and now I get less ad based tracking marketing etc...

[Newtonian 453]

Anyone who f___s with that s__t should have his head examined. Same with Twitter, instagram, etc. Grow up people. That c__ks____r Zuckerberg makes billions by stealing your precious time.

[1LtCAP 4,263]

facebook does. i talked with a customer about knee braces. dude's got bad knees. within the day i was getting ads about knee braces.

 

 same thing happned with mattresses. never typed anything about either on the computer at that point.

[InFamous 311]

I went to my voice records. Nothing of interest. It was all of times I voice activated Google. I don't see any spying there but I did delete and turn off the save history feature for it. As far as FB is concerned, I have never noticed anything being advertised of things I talk about, only things I search online and it's almost immediate after searching. I look up hoodies and 5 mins later or less they're advertised on FB. 

[InFamous 311]

FB is actually reading my mind now. I didn't talk about twizzlers, didn't search for them, but this popped up, not I want them so bad!!

 

https://www.boxed.com/product/648/twizzlers-180-twists?pf=3&gid=648

 

[Zeke 5,504]

Nibs are better

[Bt Doctur 188]

look into encryption apps

[InFamous 311]

Nibs are better

 

You're cray cray!

[bhunted 887]

Need to start talking about french maids on FB... [emoji12]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jackandjill 683]

And people buy Google Home, Amazon Echo, Smart TVs and other garbage.  The amount of data thats out there and ease of making connections is mind boggling. Proving who collected the data, how they collated, who they sold it to and who decided what ads to push is almost impossible.  I dont even have to say or write anything for someone to figure out my potential interests as long as they just know couple of other people I regularly communicate with and / or general context (metadata).

 

Our BigBrother just loves it because thats neat way around pesky privacy regulations and expectations.

 

If OP GF is worried about HIPAA, she should either get rid of crappy apps like FB, get a separate work phone or pull battery / put it in tinfoil (I am being serious) while at work.