Is Instagram listening to your conversations to deliver ads? Here's what Instagram head has to say

Instagram

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has once again shot down the long-running rumour that Meta secretly turns on phone microphones to eavesdrop on conversations and target ads. Posting on his account, Mosseri insisted such behaviour would be a “gross violation of privacy” and said users would easily spot it through battery drain or the microphone indicator light.

The conspiracy has lingered for years, fuelled by uncanny ad targeting that often feels too precise to be coincidence. Even Mosseri’s own wife has raised the question, he admitted. But Meta has been denying the claim since at least 2016, when it explicitly said microphone data was not used for ads, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg later repeated the denial in testimony to Congress.

Algorithms, not audio

So what explains the eerily accurate ads? According to Mosseri, it’s not surveillance but sophisticated targeting. Advertisers share data about visitors to their websites, which Meta uses to build profiles. Combined with “lookalike” audiences—ads based on the interests of people similar to you—the system doesn’t need to hear your conversations. In many cases, Mosseri added, it’s also down to psychology: people often notice ads only after a topic is fresh in their mind, mistaking it for surveillance.

This system has powered Meta’s advertising dominance for years, effectively printing money by turning behavioural data into personalised promotions.

The AI era raises new doubts

But here’s the irony: while Mosseri was denying microphone snooping, Meta was preparing to scoop up even more data. Starting December 16, a revised privacy policy will let the company use interactions with its AI products—such as Meta AI chatbots—to refine ad targeting across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

That means chats with AI assistants, where people often share more personal ideas, interests, and activities, will feed into Meta’s advertising engine. Sensitive topics such as religion, health, or sexual orientation are excluded, the company says, but everything else is fair game.

Paranoia? Or reality?

In short, Meta doesn’t need to secretly listen in—it doesn’t have to. Its ad system is already strong enough, and with AI data layered on top, it’s about to become even more invasive. For users who already felt creeped out by the accuracy of Instagram’s ads, the line between paranoia and reality just got blurrier.