Mosseri added that if Instagram or Meta were using microphones secretly, users would notice — phones would display an active microphone light and drain battery power more quickly.
Instagram AI Data Collection Raises Concerns
While Mosseri’s post may ease concerns for some, it comes as Meta is preparing to collect even more personal data — this time from its own AI products.
Starting December 16, Meta’s updated privacy policy will permit the company to use interactions with Meta AI chatbots as another layer of data to shape ad targeting. The company argues that conversations with AI offer even stronger signals of personal interests than its traditional system of tracking web activity and comparing users with similar profiles.
As Mosseri put it, the company’s powerful recommendation system already works through partnerships with advertisers: “We show people ads based on what similar people are interested in, and on information advertisers share with us.”
Critics, however, note that Meta has a rocky history with privacy. A California jury recently found that the company violated state privacy laws by collecting intimate health data from users of the Flo app without consent (TechCrunch).
