Facebook Introduces Audio Tool that Listens to What You’re Doing

facebook_listeningFacebook unveiled new audio technology this week that can identify what you’re watching or listening to. The technology, which will be implemented in Facebook’s mobile app, uses smart phone microphones to listen to a user’s surroundings, and according to Aryeh Selekman, a Facebook representative, the technology can recognize millions of different songs, TV shows and movies.

Once the feature recognizes what you’re doing, the content will either appear automatically in a post or you will be able to access it in the “Feelings” tab. Thankfully, the feature is opt-in only, meaning you won’t suddenly find your Facebook profile listening to what you’re doing and posting about it.  However, even if users don’t share what the tool is listening to, Facebook will still get their hands on that information. If a user who has opted in to the feature opens a compose tab and doesn’t share information, Facebook will still have their audio data. Selekman told TechCrunch that advertisers will not be able to target these posts from users, though it’s on the site’s radar as a potential aspect of the feature in the future.

Facebook is on a quest to obtain as much information about their users as possible, and it’s clear they’re eager to break down traditional barriers to gather data. Though this technology is opt-in only, it still seems like a step forward that could creep out some users of the site.

Image Credit: Facebook



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