The Big Brother in the novel 1984 listens to everything and nothing can escape his ears . Now in reality , we have Facebook . The social media giant has never denied that it's keeping track of conversations you have near your phone ( if the Facebook app is open , that is ) , but not , one expert has told NBC that Mark Zuckerberg's empire may be keeping ears on you at a more regular basis . According to Professor Kelli Burns , who teaches mass communication at the University of South Florida , it may be listening more often than it lets on . To prove her point , Burns turned on the microphone feature on her phone , and said , " I'm really interested in going on an African journey . I think it'd be wonderful to ride in one of those jeeps . " Less than a minute later , when she checked her Facebook page , she was met by a story about a journey - the first post on her newsfeed . There was also a car ad on her page . While Facebook says that it's only keeping its ears open to help " identify the music you're listening to and TV matches you're watching , " Burns' little experiment suggests that there may be other motivations at play as well . But the social media company has denied claims that it records any conversations , and told The Independent , " Facebook does not use microphone audio to inform advertising or News Feed stories in any way . Businesses are able to serve related ads based on people's interests and other statistic information , but not through audio collection . " Whether you believe this statement or not , there are ways to stop Facebook from listening in at all . Simply turn off your phone's microphone by heading over into Settings ( if you're an iPhone user ) , going to the Privacy tab , then clicking on Microphone . From there , you can remove Facebook's mic privileges , and probably , stop the company from hearing your conversations . On Android , you can also go to Privacy under the Settings tab , and change Facebook's permissions . So the next time you're chatting with your friends about your summer vacation plans , keep an eye on your Facebook feed . There may be more participants in your conversation than you realize . What might Facebook do if it is turned on ?
Chat with you like a real friend . Turn on your phone's microphone . Identify the movie you are watching . Show ads based on your conversation .