Why Is Facebook Eavesdropping On Your Messenger Chats?

Contractors for tech companies routinely listen to, and, in Facebook’s case, transcribe, what users say on apps like Messenger or Skype.

By Shelly BrisbinAugust 15, 2019 11:39 am

Facebook is the latest tech company to be caught using audio from its users in ways no one previously knew about. Tech expert Omar Gallaga says the company had hired contractors to transcribe audio from Facebook Messenger conversations and from audio commands. Amazon, Google, Apple and, most recently, Microsoft, have all come under fire for having humans listen to, and even keep, audio from voice assistant devices or apps. And it turns out many of the contractors doing this work are in Texas.

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Why companies capture and transcribe what users say

– What can be done to keep conversations from being monitored and saved by tech companies

– Who’s doing the eavesdropping