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If you've ever seen an ad for something on Facebook just minutes or hours after chatting about it, you're not alone.
Thousands of Facebook users have encountered the phenomenon, which Meta claims is based upon the predictive algorithms its social networks use to track your potential tastes and interests.
However, sometimes the algorithm is suspiciously accurate, as one Brummy TikToker has claimed.
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TJ Mills shared a video on his channel asking 'Is Facebook listening' before sharing 'evidence' that the app had targeted him with ads based on his chats.
TJ said he was scrolling TikTok with his partner when he saw a video of a VR game he'd like to try.
He explained: "I said wouldn't that be great if there was one near us? There isn't one in the Birmingham area.
"Today she was scrolling on Facebook and she's come across this VR game from Birmingham. It's like what? Is Facebook listening to our conversation, or is it just me?"
"That's weird. They're listening."
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Despite the spooky accuracy of the ad, it likely has more to do with the sheer amount of data companies like TikTok and Meta have on their users.
Ad tracking data can follow you and your network across different apps. So, if TJ watched the TikTok clip all the way through, it's possible that the app recognised he's interested in VR and this data influenced his partner's feed.
Meta denies it uses microphone recordings to target ads, so this is the only reasonable explanation—at least according to them.
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