Facebook Paid Contractors to Transcribe Messenger Voice Chats

Facebook paid “hundreds of outside contractors” to transcribe user audio clips from its Messenger app, reports Bloomberg.

Employees who worked on the transcription were not told where the audio was recorded or how it was obtained, nor were they told why Facebook needs conversations transcribed.

messenger4facebook
Facebook says that while it had indeed been transcribing audio, it no longer plans to do so. "We paused human review of audio more than a week ago,” Facebook told Bloomberg.

Facebook’s decision to pause its audio transcribing comes following scrutiny of human review programs from Apple, Amazon, and Google. The three companies use employees to review voice assistant requests and accidental activations for improvement purposes.

One firm that Facebook uses to transcribe Messenger conversations is TaskUs, a company that also reviews Facebook content for possible policy violations.

Facebook says that users who had voice chats transcribed had opted in, and that the transcriptions were used to make sure Facebook’s AI correctly interpreted the messages. Despite this, Facebook did not disclose to users that third parties may be reviewing audio, which led some of Facebook’s contractors to “feel their work is unethical.”

Facebook’s data use policy does mention the collection of “content, communications, and other information,” but there’s no specific mention of audio.

Facebook says its “systems automatically process content and communications you and others provide to analyze context and what’s in them.” It includes no mention of other human beings screening the content. In a list of “types of third parties we share information with,” Facebook doesn’t mention a transcription team, but vaguely refers to “vendors and service providers who support our business” by “analyzing how our products are used.”

While Facebook claims it has stopped the audio transcription program, those concerned should refrain from using Facebook services like Messenger and WhatsApp.

Google and Apple have temporarily suspended their human audio review programs, while Amazon is letting Alexa users opt out. In the future, when Apple re-implements human review of Siri queries, there will be a clear privacy policy and opt-out option.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro is Vulnerable to Scratching, But Not Where You Might Think

Tuesday September 23, 2025 2:18 pm PDT by
Early reports have suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are more vulnerable to scratches and scuffs, primarily due to damage spotted at Apple Stores. Apple customers have discovered that the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models Apple has out for display at its retail locations have scratching in the area of the MagSafe charger. Those devices are handled by hundreds to thousands of...

Top Rated Comments

dominiongamma Avatar
80 months ago
Facebook getting more creepier everyday
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
handsome421 Avatar
80 months ago
Facebook: "Yeah you know that totally invasive, unethical, privacy-denying stuff that we were doing just a minute ago? Yeah we're totally not doing that anymore and you're actually not 'dumb *****' for trusting us like Mark Zuckerberg, our provably-human CEO said."
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolbreeze Avatar
80 months ago
Example # 397 of Facebook having zero respect for personal information.

But guyz, this is a one-off misunderstanding, promise! Sure thing bub.

Seriously, delete your effing account already. That place is beyond toxic and frankly dangerous.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
urgs Avatar
80 months ago
I understand, why you have to transcribe audio recordings to improve a voice recognition system like Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant.

But why does Facebook transcribe voice chats? Despite of some unethical things I see no legitimation for Facebook to do that.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rob_2811 Avatar
80 months ago
Least shocking news story of the week, we have a winner.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
80 months ago
Hello fellow Humans! It is me, Mark Zuckerberg!
We are happy to announce that as of yesterday, we have put our Privacy Violating Practices™ temporarily on hold, so all is well! Please continue to use Messenger Audio Messages™, and rest assured that no Human will be listening in on them (including me, obviously)! Please also speak clearly and slowly to ensure that your Friends™ can hear you.
C:\dev\file.c(467) : error C2143: syntax error : missing ';' before 'type'
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)