New world. Does Facebook really intend to spy on us at home?



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 The Facebook logo on a broken smartphone screen. "Title =" The Facebook logo on a broken smartphone screen. | JOEL SAGET / AFP "clbad =" b-lazy "width =" 580px "height =" 326px "data-src =" / image / 75ivwzea1-ec96 / 580/326 / 15383461.jpg "/> 
 
<figcaption> The Facebook logo on a broken smartphone screen. (JOEL SAGET / AFP) </figcaption></figure>
<p> Facebook has filed a patent for a technology that allows you to secretly activate the microphone of your mobile phone to listen to what is happening at home by sending an inaudible sound signal by The goal is to badyze your reactions after the broadcast of advertisements Revealed by the British newspaper Metro UK, this information has caused a wave of panic and indignation in the American and European press .. Except that … it is not The American website The Verge does not agree and thinks it's a misinterpretation of the patent filed by Facebook. </p>
<p> You have to know how to read a patent, says The Verge. the words "phone" and "micro" do not appear in the so-called "claims" but only appear in the illustration diagrams. The presented system is based on an audio fingerprint recognition system, such as the Shazam app (which recognizes songs played on the radio), but the rest (microphone activation, listening to conversations) are only extrapolations. Such technology also already exists in Amazon's Alexa system, which recognizes TV commercials containing the magic formula "Alexa" so as not to go off unexpectedly. </p>
<p> Technology companies are filing patents out of hand. In no case does this mean that they really intend to develop this or that technology. As The Verge explains, the goal is mainly to block competitors who have the same ideas. Moreover, even if it does not necessarily have great value, Facebook has officially denied such a project. </p>
<p> In the current context, this micro story is scary. Already, there is this rumor that Facebook would spy conversations and then display targeted advertising (false information, until proven otherwise). Then there is the arrival of the voice badistants who raises a lot of questions – legitimate – about the risks of surveillance but also feeds, unfortunately, the most delusional fears. In fact, today, as soon as we pronounce the word "micro", we trigger panic. It's not easy to distinguish between fantasy and reality. </p>
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