Do Social Media Apps Monitor Conversations and Display Relevant Ads?

On social media applications, data security and privacy have been important concerns. According to a recent study by an ex-Google employee, Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram applications may be monitoring its users’ internet activities. Felix Krause did a research on the iOS applications of Instagram and Facebook and discovered that both apps may monitor internet behaviour by utilizing the in-app browser to visit third-party URLs rather than Apple’s built-in safari browser.

Many users claim that they get relevant advertisements on Instagram and Facebook based on their everyday conversations. Is it true that Instagram, Facebook, and other social media applications monitor your location as well as your conversation?

The answer is arguable, yes.

Many of you have probably noticed that you are seeing advertisements based on your most recent conversation with someone.

One of the customers queried, “Is my phone listening in on my chats and proposing advertisements to me based on what it hears? I was talking to my sister about purchasing clothing, and she mentioned Etsy. A few minutes later, I was reading Reddit and spotted an Etsy ad out of nowhere. Then I went on Facebook and saw yet another Etsy ad. Is this just coincidental? “.

According to several news outlets, corporations utilise our phones to listen in on our chats and figure out what we would like to purchase next. Other news agencies have stated that this is not the case, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has disputed it under oath. However, many users claim that they get relevant advertising and reels on Instagram based on their previous conversations, regardless of whether they are using iOS or Android.