Instagram CEO insists the app is NOT listening to you – and it’s just ‘dumb luck’ that you see ads on your feed for things you were just talking about
- The head of Instagram dismissed any theories that Instagram listens to users
- He said it’s either ‘dumb luck’ or you’ve forgotten that you had searched about that topic, and that’s why you’re talking about it
- Mosseri’s statements came an interview with CBS’ Gayle King, his first TV interview since taking the role last year
It’s happened to all of us: you’re talking about a specific, niche thing that you haven’t searched before, and the next time you open Instagram there’s an ad for it.
According to the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, that’s just ‘dumb luck’.
For anyone unconvinced by that theory, Mosseri floated another one: you’ve forgotten that you had been searching for that very thing – or a related topic, at least – and you started talking about it because you’d already searched for it.
‘You might be talking about something because it’s top of mind because you’ve been interacting with that type of content more recently,’ Mosseri said.
‘So maybe you’re really into food and restaurants. You saw a restaurant on Facebook or Instagram and you really like the thing. It’s top of mind, maybe it’s subconscious and then it bubbles up later. I think this kind of thing happens often in a way that’s really subtle.’
Mosseri’s comments, in a TV interview with CBS’ Gayle King – his first since taking the role nine months ago – earned an acrobatic eyebrow raise from King, who described receiving targeted ads herself.
‘I swear I think you guys are listening. I know you’re gonna say you’re not,’ King said.
His response falls in line with the company message at Facebook, which owns Instagram: we could not possibly waste storage and time on collecting audio files from everyone.
Despite many anecdotal reports, and a few experiments to back up the coincidental targeted ads, researchers have found no evidence that Facebook or Instagram do listen to you.
Reports have found that while many game apps on your phone may track your voice, there is no evidence that major apps do.
One privacy expert, Jake Laperruque at the Constitution Project, told CNET there are many explanations for targeted ads, but they’re so complex and simple that they don’t seem obvious or natural.
‘[People] usually say, “I can’t imagine another way for this to get onto me for advertising,”‘ Laperruque told CNET.
‘Think outside the box. What about location-based advertising, or what a friend is searching? Just spend a few minutes thinking about how much data companies have.’
Mosseri said that the company has yet to take down a deepfaked video containing the CBS logo as Instagram formulates a uniform policy.
