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The rumours about Instagram listening into your conversations has been around a while. You probably half-believe it yourself. Maybe there was instance where you were spooked by an advert appearing on Instagram immediately after you've mentioned a product out loud while chatting away with friends or acquaintances.
Well, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has posted a "myth-busting" video to clarify that Instagram does not eavesdrop on your conversations.
Mosseri says that Instagram listening to you would be "gross violation of privacy," and that if the app was indeed using your microphone, you'd see a green dot at the top of your screen. Plus, your phone's battery would drain much quicker.
So, How Does Instagram Happen To Know Your What You Were Just Talking About?
Mosseri provides several reasons why you see ads for something you talked about, including just "pure coincidence." The first is that you may have interacted with content related to it or searched for it online or on a website.
"We actually do work with advertisers who share information with us about who was on their website to try to target those people with ads," he says.
Second, the app's own algorithm pushes ads for stuff it thinks you might be interested in. This mechanism is also partly based on what your friends are interested in or what similar people with similar interests are looking for, meaning you might see an ad for products even your friends searched for.
Finally, Mosseri says, not every ad appears after you start talking about it.
"You might have actually seen that ad before you had the conversation and not realised it. We scroll by ads quickly, and sometimes you internalise some of that, and that actually affects what you talk about later," he says.
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Instagram & Other Social Media Apps Don't Need to Listen to Your Conversations to Know You
These apps on our devices are constantly collecting personal data. Mobile app tracking monitors every move you make inside the app. They are taking notice of your patterns, interests, and interactions by default.
Apps gather data on everything from the moment you open them to the moment you close them. This includes the screens you view, the profiles you visit, the posts you linger on, the buttons you tap, how long your sessions last, the specific features you use, and the types of content you engage with (likes, comments, shares).
In Meta's case, the company owns several platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads, and they aggregate your information across all platforms. Instagram knows everything about you and your likes because it’s linked to your activity on Facebook and Threads.
Your usage patterns, deep interests, and likely next purchases are all digested by powerful algorithms, and adverts are served to you with eerie accuracy by design. No secret microphone listening is necessary.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Data
It’s often difficult to limit tracking, and that's usually intentional. For many large companies, monitoring your behaviour is fundamental to their entire business model. However, you are entirely powerless.
The safe assumption is that most of your apps are constantly tracking your behaviour.
Determining exactly what an app collects requires a combination of observation, reviewing the permissions you grant, and reading privacy policies (though these can be intentionally vague).
You can review permissions by regularly checking your phone’s settings (under Privacy or Apps) and deny permissions that seem excessive. Does a calculator app really need access to your microphone or location?
On modern smartphones, you can often see which apps are requesting to track your activity across other apps and websites. Block those requests where possible.
And lastly, pay attention to how often you click "I Agree." More often than not, we freely hand over our information simply by agreeing to use platforms that clearly state they will track our behaviour.
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