Facebook refutes eavesdropping conversations for targeted advertising

- Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed, the tech giant said in a blog post.

"We show ads based on people’s interests and other profile information – not what you’re talking out loud about," Facebook said.

"We only access your microphone if you have given our app permission and if you are actively using a specific feature that requires audio. This might include recording a video or using an optional feature we introduced two years ago to include music or other audio in your status updates."

Facebook responded directly to claims made by University of South Florida professor Kelli Burns who said the company was secretly listening to the users' conversations, but offered no concrete proof.