Facebook quashes "myths" about in-app audio recognition
The head of Facebook's US-based Security Infrastructure team has defended a recent app update that uses a smartphone's microphone for Shazam-like audio recognition.
The feature was announced at the end of May, and was expected to roll out within weeks. Allowing Android and iOS users to "identify TV and music instantly," the app is capable of recording ambient sounds in the user's environment to recognise what show is on the TV or what song is playing.
While the functionality is opt-in for users and only available in the United States, the announcement quickly raised concerns that Facebook was equipping smartphones to record private conversations or user activity. However, head of Facebook's Security Infrastructure team, Gregg Stefancik, has moved to reassure users that the social network is not listening in or storing conversations, saying there were a "a lot of myths" about the new feature.
