Cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0 has accused Chinese-backed social media platform TikTok of “excessive data harvesting” in a new report. The report claims that the app tracks the location of users every hour, gains access to contacts and calendars, and conducts “device mapping” with respect to other apps installed on users’ phones. Access to contacts is reportedly requested repeatedly until granted, while information relating to GPS location and clipboards (containing stored passwords) is also collected. TikTok is popular with under-24s, and the app claims around 150 million users in the US alone. The U.S. is reportedly considering banning the app due to national security concerns.
TikTok collects user location, contacts, and passwords says report
