On the very day that Meta revealed its plans to use AI chat interactions to customize the advertisements it presents, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, released a video aimed at debunking a long-standing rumor about Meta: “I swear, we do not listen to your microphone,” he states.

Meta’s ad targeting algorithms can feel uncannily accurate, sometimes suggesting items that seem like they could only be identified through verbal conversations. This has led to the widespread belief that Meta might be using device microphones to listen in, a notion that the company has been striving to dispel for years:

• In 2016, the company, then known as Facebook, said that it “does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed.”
• In a 2018 Senate hearing, CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to the question on the topic with a direct “no.”
• In a support document titled “are Facebook and Instagram listening to your conversations without your knowledge?”, Meta says “No. We do not use your microphone unless you’ve given us permission, and even then, we only use it when you’re actively using a feature that requires the microphone.”

In Wednesday’s video, Mosseri says he’s had “a lot” of passionate conversations about the topic, including “at least a few” with his wife.

“We do not listen to you,” Mosseri asserts. “We do not utilize the phone’s microphone to eavesdrop on conversations.” He emphasizes that listening in through your device’s microphone “would be a gross violation of privacy” and would also significantly impact your phone’s battery life.

Mosseri provides a few potential reasons for why you might “see an ad for something that you recently discussed,” which are highlighted below:

First, it’s possible that you interacted with something related or even searched for the specific product online before the conversation took place. Meta collaborates with advertisers who share data about visitors to their websites, enabling them to target ads accordingly. So, if you viewed a product on a site, the advertiser might have paid Meta to reach you directly with an ad.

Second, we tailor ads based on assumed interests, taking into account what your friends and similar individuals with shared interests are engaging with. Thus, after discussing a product, you might see an ad if your conversation partner had previously explored or searched for it or if people with similar interests have been doing the same.

Three, you might have actually seen that ad before you had a conversation and not realized it. We scroll quickly, we scroll by ads quickly, and sometimes you internalize some of that, and that actually affects what you talk about later.

Four, random chance, coincidence, it happens.

Still, despite his video, Mosseri seemingly expects this rumor to persist. “I know some of you are just not going to believe me, no matter how much I try to explain it,” he says. And many comments on the video are skeptical of the explanation: “That is exactly what I would say if I was listening to people’s conversations,” according to one of the most-liked comments.