Published: Fri, October 19, 2018
Life&Culture | By Sue Mclaughlin

Facebook admits the Portal could spy on you

Facebook admits the Portal could spy on you

"We may use this information to inform the ads we show you across our platforms", the spokesperson continues. Further, no data will be mined from conversations, and targeted ads will not be tailored based on any information shared in private calls. If we go by the words of Cheddar's Alex Heath, the world's largest social network is working on a camera-equipped device that would be connected to the TV and let the user allow video call and engage other Facebook's entertainment services.

"Facebook's official statement to Recode read: "....we collect the same types of information (i.e., usage data such as length of calls, the frequency of calls) that we collect on other Messenger-enabled devices. The idea is to break out the video calling functionality from Facebook Messenger into a standalone device, controlled primarily by voice.

A mysterious product called "Ripley" appeared hidden beside Facebook's new Portal smart displays in Facebook for Android's code. Facebook launched Portal earlier this month, touting the in-home speaker as the ideal video chat accessory due to its intelligent camera that can "follow" you as you move around the room. It also comes with Amazon Alexa built in.

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The confusion stems from whether this affects Portal or not. While the Portal technology is undoubtedly clever, the fact that Facebook launched its devices while still in the midst of a privacy scandal that saw personal information of thousands of users exposed was seen as misguided at best, or tremendously arrogant by those less forgiving. Even more worrisome, the hack possibly gave attackers access to any website that uses the Facebook login feature, including Instagram, Spotify, Airbnb, Tinder, Pinterest, Expedia and more than 100,000 other places online, per The New York Times.

Following Cambridge Analytica and several site hacks, people have been understandably concerned about placing a Facebook product containing a camera and microphone in their home. It would be really challenging for Facebook to market its hardware amidst the rising cases of data breach and users' waning trust in the company.

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