TikTok speaks against allegations that it has suspicious privacy regulations
Graphic: MorningBird Media, Springfield, MA
Regardless of how fun TikTok is, there is no doubt that it has faced severe scrutiny over it's security practices. In an attempt to show users it is thwarting off cyber threats, they partnered with industry leaders such as HackerOne and have also provided transparency regarding their source code and the application’s algorithm. On Feb 13th, 2023, Malcore published an industry analysis of 21 popular social media apps including TikTok. TikTok feels this analysis was misleading and at worst a severely flawed and biased analysis. But we'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself. TikTok received a 63.1, the worse score by far, with the standard being 34 and the average across these 21 apps being 28.8. They claim Malcore used a tool that did not receive a source code review and their analysis had several inaccuracies.
Now let's talk about what this means for business owners- Is TikTok safe to use?
TikTok claims:
"TikTok does not collect user device IMEI, SIM serial number, or integrated circuit card identification number. The current version of the TikTok app does not use MAC addresses" this means that it is not grabbing any information about your phone or your hard data.
"TikTok does not collect all accounts on a device." It is very vague language ...
"We do not collect any GPS location data, whether precise or coarse, in the U.S."
they specify in the U.S. so if you are out of the U.S., you should definitely do your research. They also say
"TikTok collects location information based on a device's GPS data, if Location Services is actively enabled by the user."
Contradictory language?!
People can choose to allow TikTok access to photos, contacts, microphones, and cameras. This is true and fairly common among social media apps.
At the end of the day, as business owners all we can do is make informed decisions to the best of our knowledge. If your strategy allows you to monetize with the use of TikTok, it wouldn't deter us from continuing to pursue this avenue as a revenue stream. What about you?
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