[logn]

Myth 1: they claim to not store audio or recordings. They could easily store keywords it detects from the mic.

Myth 2: they don't address what happens when you don't turn on the feature.

Edit to add: Overall they might not "listen to the mic" but they might be detecting words based audio data. It's all of matter of how you define things. Maybe to them, listening to the mic means playing an audio feed of the mic to a human being at Facebook, or software analyzing the full audio stream instead of a transformed/condensed view of the audio.

[harryf]

I wonder if it's possible to capture audio through the motion detection sensors? Would a phone lying on a table be able to pick up vibrations caused by someone speaking? Does the OS provide APIs for app developers to access the information ?

[tedunangst]

With some training, motion sensors can detect what's being typed on a keyboard sharing the same surface.