SAN FRANCISCO, US – Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has publicly dismissed long-running claims that the social media platform secretly listens to users through their phone microphones to gather data for targeted advertising.
Mosseri’s statement arrives as Meta prepares to expand its ad targeting capabilities using data gathered from user interactions with its artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Posting on Instagram on Wednesday, Mosseri called the idea that Meta activates microphones in the background to record private conversations an “age-old conspiracy theory.” The claim has circulated for years, fueled by users who frequently notice ads that seem eerily related to recent conversations or even passing thoughts.
Mosseri acknowledged that the suspicion is widespread, admitting that even his own wife has questioned the uncanny accuracy of Meta’s ad targeting. “I’ve had many conversations with people about this,” he said, emphasizing that covert microphone spying would represent a “gross violation of privacy.”
Why Ads Still Feel Too Accurate
The timing of Mosseri’s comments is strategic. Meta has just announced that it will soon refine ad targeting across its social apps—including Instagram and Facebook—by leveraging data collected from how users engage with its new AI products.
This means the company’s ad recommendations no longer need to rely on far-fetched surveillance methods to be uncannily relevant. The algorithms already analyze user behavior, interests, and engagement at scale to predict with high accuracy what content—and what products—people are likely to click on.
Familiar Suspicion Among Users
For many, the belief that they are being listened to persists due to personal, sharp coincidences. Users commonly report mentioning a specific product in a conversation and seeing an ad for it appear almost instantly on Instagram, leading some to feel as if the app were “mind reading.”
Meta has consistently denied these accusations, insisting that its advanced targeting system—not covert microphone surveillance—fully explains why ads align so precisely with user interests. While Mosseri rejects the microphone myth, he acknowledged that Meta’s technology can still feel invasive. Privacy advocates often point out that Meta’s fundamental business model depends on relentless user data collection and analysis, which can leave people uneasy even without audio recordings.
