Is Facebook spying through your microphone? Easy iPhone trick can tell you

FACEBOOK is constantly accused of spying on us – but is it really listening through your microphone?

Everything points to the answer being no, but you can check for yourself if you have an iPhone.

Accessing a smartphone microphone without your permission would be a huge invasion of privacy.

But time and time again, we see claims of Facebook snooping on your private conversations.

Usually it's linked to seeing an ad on Facebook for a product that you've not searched for – but that you've spoken about in real life.

The good news is that this is very easy to explain as pure coincidence, or by remembering that Facebook knows so much about you without having to listen to your private chats.

If you're not convinced, your iPhone has a trick to check if any apps are using your microphone.

It's a sure-fire way to detect any dodgy behaviour from any app – Facebook included.

How to check for Facebook spying

First, make sure your iPhone is updated to iOS 14 or later in Settings > General > Software Update.

This update adds a "warning dot" that alerts you whenever your microphone or camera is activated.

That means if any app is surreptitiously recording you, you'll know about it.

An orange dot will appear in the upper right corner of the screen when the microphone – or camera – is activated.

If the dot is green, your camera is being used.

By swiping into your Control Centre, you'll be able to see details about which app is using the microphone.

If you suspect something is up, you should check the app's permissions in Settings.

You can deny specific apps access to your microphone or camera, for instance.

And if you're really worried, you could just delete the app altogether.

So is Facebook actually listening to you?

Well the real answer is probably scarier – we (accidentally and purposefully) give Facebook so much info, it doesn't need to "listen in".

People have debated for years whether companies like Facebook are listening in on their conversations.

But there has never been any solid evidence – beyond hearsay and anecdotes – that the social media giant is recording your chats.

Facebook has repeatedly denied the claims, highlighting that it bases the ads you see on your interests and information from your profile.

A number of independent investigations have found no evidence that the US tech titan secretly listens to its users.