Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram at Meta, released a video on his official account on the platform denying one of the most widespread rumors: that Instagram spies on users by listening to their conversations in order to display ads in real time, according to a report by the British newspaper The Sun.
اضافة اعلان
Mosseri clarified that the claim is unfounded, stressing that he sees posts about this every day, as does his wife who often comes across similar claims. He emphasized:
“We are not spying on you, and we do not use your phone’s microphone to listen in. That would be a clear and gross violation of privacy.”
He pointed out that modern phone systems prevent any app from accessing the microphone without permission and display indicators when it is in use. He added that continuously running the microphone would also quickly drain the battery, further proving the rumor false.
As for why ads sometimes appear “at the right moment,” Mosseri explained that this is due to the strength of Meta’s advertising algorithms, which can accurately target users based on their activity within the platform or on external sites. He added:
“Maybe you interacted with something on an external site or on Instagram, which is why you saw the ad. Sometimes the ad shows up because your friends interacted with it.”
His remarks come at a time when reports suggest that Instagram and Facebook are considering launching a paid subscription in certain countries, allowing users to browse both platforms ad-free, with the option to personalize the experience through Meta’s new AI chatbot.
