It’s time to learn how it all works.
Tensions are high in 2020, especially between the US and China. Not only is there an ongoing trade war, but an emerging technological battle as well. This is especially true when it comes to the newly popular video-based app, TikTok. What started as a lip-synching app in 2014 has since grown to be the most prevalent app amongst gen Zers, with over 2 billion downloads as of April 2020.
TikTok’s success brought with it considerable privacy and content censoring concerns due to its Chinese ownership. An investigation was launched by the U.S. in 2019 to assess national security risks and the legality of the app’s data sharing.
Thumbing through the app’s updated privacy policy, it’s easy to see why some are raising an eyebrow to TikTok’s growing influence in the U.S. The policy uses vague language to explain how they collect, process, and share information. TikTok, like other apps, stores behavioral information based on how you utilize the platform. It might surprise you to learn that they also have access to the information you send in your direct messages, as well as location information based on your SIM card and IP address. If you haven’t checked your privacy settings, they may also have access to information off your mobile device, including your phone book, other apps you’ve downloaded, and global positioning data (GPS).
It’s easy to check that little ‘Agree to Terms of Service’ box when signing up for a new application, but what exactly are you agreeing to? It may seem like the easy way out is to start deleting your accounts, but it turns out that deleting your account is not synonymous with erasing your data footprint. According to a study conducted by the University of Adelaide in Australia and the University of Vermont in the United States in 2018, all that’s needed to create an accurate profile of a ‘deleted user’ is 8-9 tweets or posts from friends of the user. Machine learning algorithms can then predict factors such as age range, political affiliations, and leisurely interests, simply by using information from your ‘friends.’ The most startling fact is that of the 13,905 Twitter accounts they analyzed, researchers were able to build deleted profiles with up to 95% accuracy.
As much as privacy feels like an individual right and choice, it seems as though the apps and friends we spend time with are working against us. In this new age of technology, its time to start understanding how it all works.