Facebook is using your phone's mic to snoop on you

If Facebook have access to your mic, what do GCHQ/NSA have on you?

I’m sure GCHQ have nothing like as much processing power as Facebook, so they’re not going to even try unless you are already a person of interest.

I’m sure GCHQ have nothing like as much processing power as Facebook

They wouldn’t need it – they’d just need enough budget to feed it through Microsoft’s Cognitive Services Speech API[/url] 🙂

If Facebook have access to your mic, what do GCHQ/NSA have on you?

there’s been a thread on here about that before I think, is it the seven dwarves or something, one of their tools Snowden leaked info about, basically they can drop code onto your phone via sms that you don’t even know about 😈

In iOS, when an app is closed (you hit the home button) the app has 5 seconds to save what you were doing before it’s kicked out of accessing anything. This is called sandboxing and is absolutely fundamental to how the iOS system works, and how iOS offers security to users

Because this is so fundamental to how the OS works, it wouldn’t be possible to make this work without rewriting from the ground up the whole operating system, changing vast amounts of the very core iOS is built upon.

Your app delegate’s applicationDidEnterBackground: method has approximately 5 seconds to finish any tasks and return. In practice, this method should return as quickly as possible. If the method does not return before time runs out, your app is killed and purged from memory.

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/StrategiesforHandlingAppStateTransitions/StrategiesforHandlingAppStateTransitions.html

Of course, your app can run in the background state – for example Google Maps. But these have to be approved by Apple as part of their rigorous approval process, and it has to have tangible benefit to the user. If Facebook somehow got Apple to let them listen to users with the app in a background state that means someone at a high level at Apple approved that. Everyone enjoys bashing on big business but I don’t think Apple would approve spying on their users.

Can it detect the sound of masturbation?

Just asking for a friend like…

Can it detect the sound of masturbation?

Just asking for a friend like…

No but your housemates can smell it anyway.

is it the seven dwarves or something

Smurf Suite.

This is called sandboxing and is absolutely fundamental to how the iOS system works, and how iOS offers security to users

True, but Facebook does seem to have some kind of special status on iOS – it’s not just a vanilla app, it appears in its own section in Settings and hooks into Contacts in ways that other apps can’t. So it is possible that Apple allow them out the sandbox a little.

True, but Facebook does seem to have some kind of special status on iOS – it’s not just a vanilla app, it appears in its own section in Settings and hooks into Contacts in ways that other apps can’t. So it is possible that Apple allow them out the sandbox a little.

Yeah, you’d be naive to think Facebook don’t get some special treatment, but I think spying on users would be a step too far. Apple have quite a staunch record on users privacy.

If Facebook somehow got Apple to let them listen to users with the app in a background state that means someone at a high level at Apple approved that.

It certainly runs in a background state (as a service) on Android, that’s how it can pop up alerts when someone “likes” your photo or whatever. Doesn’t it do something similar on iOS?

It certainly runs in a background state (as a service) on Android, that’s how it can pop up alerts when someone “likes” your photo or whatever. Doesn’t it do something similar on iOS?

Thats a push notification.

https://www.urbanairship.com/push-notifications-explained

On android, notifications don’t need opt in. iOS you have to give permission.

in both cases, the OS themselves have a service that enables notifications to push. They don’t require the app to be open, and when you receive a push, it doesn’t open the app. (unless you choose to)

Thats a push notification.

https://www.urbanairship.com/push-notifications-explained

On android, notifications don’t need opt in. iOS you have to give permission.

TIL, I stand corrected. ❗

Screen grab from my 6+, running whatever version of iOS it’s updated to; (checks) 9.3.2 (13F69).
The mic was on, it seems by default, I’ve switched it off, can’t really see any point in having it on for Fb.

Facebook has voice calling through messenger, I imagine thats the reason (smokescreen) for having mic access

Just switched ours off on all devices fwiw

Messenger is a separate app (on iOS at least).

The Facebook app justifies the microphone because they use it to (“optionally”) identify what TV/film/music you are watching or listening to:
http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/05/a-new-optional-way-to-share-and-discover-music-tv-and-movies/

On the technical side regarding data, it’s quite possible to quick analyse on device and create hashes of the data and send them to the back end. Image comparison often works this way. Hash the data to get a signature which is a small amount of data and then compare signatures in a database on the back end for a similar match. Likewise done with audio, rather than send a whole sample over the wire.

What are you guys on about? This is well known behaviour and another drain on phone resources :/

Messenger becomes mandatory soon, no more mobile site access.

This is well known behaviour

What is?

*confused*

Prof denies it.