Facebook now uses your smartphone microphone to track you music and TV shows

Facebook is adding a new ‘Shazam-style’ feature that uses the built-in microphone in a smartphone or tablet to automatically identify the songs or TV shows its users are listening to.

The new feature will roll out across the iOS and Android versions of the Facebook app, will initially be rolled out in the US, and requires a user to opt-in before working.

After updating, a moving audio icon will appear as the user creates a new post, and if the app finds a match to a song, TV show or movie it recognises, that information can be added to the post.

Facebook says it will not store any audio collected by the new feature, users will be able to control who can see posts listing songs or TV shows (as with any other post), and users will be able to opt out at any time.

Friends viewing a post containing a song will be able to preview a 30-second sample of the track, while TV show posts will also detail the episode and season, with Facebook claiming the feature can already recognise 1 million pieces of content.

The social media giant says the new feature will make it easier for its users to create status updates sharing their favourite content.