ISLAMABAD – We all think about how Instagram and other social sites know what we are thinking or want to search. Users have long shared the strange experience of talking about a product, maybe some clothing or gadget, and then seeing it appear as an ad moments later on their feed.
For years, several theories circulated online like Instagram and its parent company Meta were secretly listening through phone microphones and some even say have access to users’ screens.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, who previously worked in Facebook, addressed rumors that platform secretly listens to users through their phone microphones, calling the idea an “age-old conspiracy theory.”
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He cleared the air as Meta gears up to supercharge ad targeting using data from user interactions with its AI tools, making ads eerily precise without ever eavesdropping. Adam admitted even his wife has wondered how social media ads sometimes seem to “read your mind,” but insisted that secretly recording conversations would be a massive invasion of privacy.
With Meta’s AI-driven targeting, the tech giant does not need to spy to make ads feel unnervingly accurate. By analyzing clicks, likes, and engagement, the system predicts which products and content will hook users next.
Despite reassurances, some users report mentioning a product aloud and immediately seeing it on Instagram, fueling myth of “mind-reading ads.” Meta stresses it’s just advanced algorithms at work, but the sensation of being watched is enough to make some uneasy.
As Meta leans harder on AI, the line between clever targeting and creepy precision continues to blur, keeping the conspiracy theories alive, even as the company denies them.
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