It seems like an innocent app in which especially young users share short, funny videos. However, there have also been concerns about the safety of TikTok for some time. US President Trump wants to leave the app now forbid.
According to tech expert Mary-Jo de Leeuw, Trump’s concerns about privacy are justified, but also hypocritical. “Any fear of apps where you give access to the microphone and camera is real. The biggest data scandals are currently going on in America. I mention Facebook.”
All apps that give you access to the microphone or photos on your phone are “terrifying,” says De Leeuw, because in theory they can watch or listen in.
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According to De Leeuw, TikTok is no exception to other apps where you give permission to your phone’s microphone and camera. “You never know exactly when they are listening in, for how long, where something is stored and what access you provide.”
TikTok has access to other apps on a mobile phone, according to De Leeuw. “They can read notes. They can even see typing movements. So they can watch if, for example, you have an app from the bank running on your phone.
To care
The TikTok app has been downloaded 1.2 billion times worldwide, including the 400 million active users on the Chinese variant Douyin. In the Netherlands, 3.5 million people have TikTok on their mobile phone.
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. In the US, there have been concerns about censorship and misuse of user data by the Chinese government for some time.
There are also concerns about the privacy of users in the Netherlands; announced in May Personal Data Authority an investigation.
“The fact that you give access to your microphone, consciously, you should be concerned about that,” says De Leeuw.
According to her, if you want to install TikTok, it is best to do that on a device where there are no other apps, including no other photos or data. “And after an update of TikTok, check again what exactly you give permission for.”
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