TikTok

[russell_314]

Well they are currently recruiting “retired” military to make and oversee production of iPhones at Foxconn… (Appleinsider/Reuters)

Yeah because a lot of the people walked out. Retired military are actually going to be hard workers and do as there told. It’s the same for the USA. I work with a lot of retired military but I don’t think any of them are spying for the US government. I think they’re happily retired and just trying to enjoy the rest of their life

 

[JPack]

This only works if you make sure the four pieces never go back together. I’m pretty sure there’s something in the code of that app that would fused them together.

That’s why I suggested burying the pieces in concrete. But good point about fusion by code. Can’t be too safe.

 

[VampyricGentleman]

Probably to prevent their employees from accidentally exposing some internal secrets while they're dancing around the office. Any social media apps should be restricted in government institutions anyway.

The only apps we are allowed to download to our office phones here in my government department in the UK that aren’t preinstalled are Outlook (because it’s preferred to the preloaded mail app), Teams, One Drive and WhatsApp anything else if picked up will lead to a disciplinary where sanctions up to dismissal can be considered

 

[Jackbequickly]

No one knows for sure how much of the app is left after deleting. Due to who owns it, you can not trust that deleting will be sufficient. Some say a new phone is the only way and if so would something remain in your data backup you used to restore your new device. There is a lot at stake here so people would go to great lengths to prevent us from getting rid of TicTok.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

This only works if you make sure the four pieces never go back together. I’m pretty sure there’s something in the code of that app that would fused them together.

Like a miniature iron giant...

 

[Fat_Guy]

No one knows for sure how much of the app is left after deleting. Due to who owns it, you can not trust that deleting will be sufficient. Some say a new phone is the only way and if so would something remain in your data backup you used to restore your new device. There is a lot at stake here so people would go to great lengths to prevent us from getting rid of TicTok.

The reply below is from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. I know nothing of this topic so I cannot say anything about it - these are not my words. It was his likes for other posters BTW…



The difference between TikTok surveillance and Google etc. is that over here they are commercially motivated and TikTok is politically connected to extremely opposite idealism to an uncomfortable extent.



I have only ever coded three cellphone apps for fun on Android and this app gives me the creeps. The creeps for what it is doing in the phone and the creeps for how much time users - especially young users - are in it and with an algorithm that changes content to whatever “they” want. Seriously, would you want your kids being “raised” with this app?


Get rid of the phone and ban this app.

 

[Fat_Guy]

Specifically to the OP.


As a compromise you could allow your kid to just use the web based portal and so the icon is on the home screen. So they can see their friends vids without the app on the phone.



The web based experience is miserable with it constantly pressuring you to get the app. Really, it is disquieting how they really push you to get the app. Anyway this would cut down on the use of the app while not ostracizing the kid from their friends.



Reality in the family is always another thing. Look at this as a teachable moment with your kid while allowing them some discretion in using it before it is banned.


As usual this is not me but my concerned friend. I know nothing of this stuff…

 

[MysticCow]

Iowa has banned it on all government phones.

You shouldn't have "fun" and "entertaining" apps on WORK PHONES. They are for WORK.

Seriously, don't ever do non-work stuff on a work item. Save that for the home items.

 

[BenGoren]

No one knows for sure how much of the app is left after deleting.

Eh … no.

As with any and every app on iOS, deleting the app removes the app and all its data. Have you never deleted anything from an iPhone? Did you not notice the confirmation / warning that popped up? Did you not read it?

If the fear is that TikTok hacks the kernel and so stays resident regardless of what iOS tries to do with it … well, again, that’s the kind of thing that government actors could do; but only would do to the sorts of people they’d target with drone strikes or bone saws. Because, if they did it indiscriminately, it would be instantly discovered and thereby rendered useless — and these thing ain’t cheap. For that matter, a drone strike is assuredly cheaper — and you don’t want to know how expensive one of those is.

Android

Well, yeah. Android is, by intentional design, a complete free-for-all. There aren’t any guardrails, and the paint on the lane markers is rarely refreshed.

The iOS development tools give developers access to lots of stuff that might seem questionable — but, if you actually use any of that stuff, good luck getting past the AppStore review process. Abuse it, and it’s a matter of time before you’re found out and banned. Too many people abuse it — like the whole “read your clipboard for no good reason” fiasco — and it gets neutered for everybody.

And there is no way on iOS, short of jailbreak or other exploit, for an app to escape its sandbox.

What do I mean by “might seem questionable”?

For example, I’m assuming that TikTok asks for and generally receives full read / write permission to the Photos library. Which means that it could upload all of your photos and videos to the TikTok servers, at which point the owners of those servers (that is, the Chinese government) could do whatever it likes with them — look through them, use AI to look for “incriminating” photos, manipulate them to create blackmail, whatever. And the write access means that they could delete photos they don’t like — or even plant, say, a photo of somebody holding up a blank piece of paper (which, apparently, right now, is one of the worst acts of political protest one can commit in China) for a Chinese officer to “discover” and use as pretext to ship you off to a reeducation camp. (Or maybe elicit a bribe; I understand that’s much more common.)

So, yeah. Get TikTok off your phones. Most especially if you’re a Chinese national or have ties to Chinese nationals you care the slightest bit about.

But … once it’s off your phone, it’s over. There’s nothing more it can do at that point.

b&

 

[BenGoren]

It IS the “type of thing that government does” , China!

So, you’re suggesting that the Chinese government has a Pegasus-level attack in TikTok but that not one cybersecurity agency in America, Taiwan, Europe, or anywhere else has found it, and that’s also eluded Apple and all white-hat independent researchers? Despite all the negative press (not to mention Congressional attention) it’s been getting?

Or that everybody is conspiring with China to keep the Chinese hack secret?

What TikTok does in the open is bad enough for it to deserve its reputation.

But if you think deleting the app isn’t enough to stop it from doing whatever it’s currently doing ...

… well, you have far, far, far worse to fear from China than TikTok. Starting with the phone itself that’s made in China, followed by the supply chain from the factory to the Chinese border, continuing with everybody who has a phone that’s been “inspected” by Chinese customs and immigration (very high chance it’s been physically compromised), and so on.

If you don’t fear any of that — and you shouldn’t, unless you’ve brought your phone with you to a visit to China or you’re a Chinese national, etc. — then just delete TikTok and be done with it.

b&

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

All the people suggesting that you get rid of the phone are being ridiculous.
It’s an Internet company, getting rid of the phone does absolutely nothing.
The phone is just a portal to the Internet.
Destroy the phone and go and buy a new one and… Ooooh, guess what! TikTok is still in the App Store, still in your purchase history, still in any iCloud backups you may have, still has an account tied to it if you created one, etc.
Just delete the account and the app and you’ll be fine, I promise you the Chinese government does not care about what your family is doing on a meme app.
Destroying the phone is literally useless, TikTok has absolutely nothing to do with hardware.
And this pretty much goes for anything on a phone or computer, unless it’s 100% local (Internet companies are very much not) destroying the hardware does absolutely nothing to change anything other than empty your pockets.
It’s basically like destroying a toothbrush to get rid of a cavity

 

[Jackbequickly]

So, you’re suggesting that the Chinese government has a Pegasus-level attack in TikTok but that not one cybersecurity agency in America, Taiwan, Europe, or anywhere else has found it, and that’s also eluded Apple and all white-hat independent researchers? Despite all the negative press (not to mention Congressional attention) it’s been getting?

Or that everybody is conspiring with China to keep the Chinese hack secret?

What TikTok does in the open is bad enough for it to deserve its reputation.

But if you think deleting the app isn’t enough to stop it from doing whatever it’s currently doing ...

… well, you have far, far, far worse to fear from China than TikTok. Starting with the phone itself that’s made in China, followed by the supply chain from the factory to the Chinese border, continuing with everybody who has a phone that’s been “inspected” by Chinese customs and immigration (very high chance it’s been physically compromised), and so on.

If you don’t fear any of that — and you shouldn’t, unless you’ve brought your phone with you to a visit to China or you’re a Chinese national, etc. — then just delete TikTok and be done with it.

b&

I am suggesting there is no limit to what the Chinese are capable of when it comes to surveillance. They are likely ahead of us as they have more experience. They also have way more at stake!

 

[Fat_Guy]

Imsuggest there is no limit to what the Chinese are capable of when it comes to surveillance. They are likely ahead of us as they have more experience.

Give this person a Kewpie Doll!


These supposed internet experts don’t know it as much as the Chinese. China supposedly helps Russia with its cyber programs. I bet they are better than the Apple hacks that still give me dimmed full screen wallpaper of my songs playing even though I have wallpaper turned off on my AOD. 🤣



Made by Chinese but I’ll take my chances with poor rebellious workers than the “new and more loyal guard” as I got my phone before the riots. Then the TikTok app our kids watch more than TV - nothing to be worried about here…..



I’m a Cold War baby and the cold war is alive and well today.



Oh, and up here in Canada we have these illegal Chinese police stations - think about that…



This PSA was from my friend and not me. I have absolutely no opinion on the matter.

 

[nathan_reilly]

My daughter downloaded TikTok about a year ago. I had her delete it and we factory reset her phone. Is this enough to clean any trackers that TikTok might have installed on her phone? Or should we look at getting her a new phone? Thanks concerned parent

Big time self report. Absolutely awesome.

 

[russell_314]

TikTok just released the new update of the app. They keep adding all these new features but I think most people just use it to watch videos

Just wait till sideloading comes along where apps don’t have to worry about App Store guidelines. It’s going to be interesting with apps like TikTok.

 

[Fat_Guy]

TikTok just released the new update of the app. They keep adding all these new features but I think most people just use it to watch videos

Just wait till sideloading comes along where apps don’t have to worry about App Store guidelines. It’s going to be interesting with apps like TikTok.

A ban is a ban.



Also, why is it that no one told the op to sell it as is. Better yet, Apple will take it back with cash for a new phone. Better yet still, have the kid send the phone direct to Tim Cook with a heartfelt message on how he is an inspiration to all young people and have Tim rock that phone for a couple of days showing it off to the Press. Oh ya - he won’t do that… 🤣

 

[russell_314]

A ban is a ban.



Also, why is it that no one told the op to sell it as is. Better yet, Apple will take it back with cash for a new phone. Better yet still, have the kid send the phone direct to Tim Cook with a heartfelt message on how he is an inspiration to all young people and have Tim rock that phone for a couple of days showing it off to the Press. Oh ya - he won’t do that… 🤣

What do you mean a ban is a ban? Yes they could easily ban it from the App Store but with sideloading it’s impossible to ban something off the Internet. Well I say impossible but I mean impossible without going full on dictatorship and locking down the Internet with some sort of firewall

Why would this kid being prohibited by his parents from going on TikTok be some sort of inspiration? That’s a choice for his parents and up to them. It’s not inspirational in one way or another. Parents make choices about what kids can do and see all the time. At least good parents do.

 

[russell_314]

So, you’re suggesting that the Chinese government has a Pegasus-level attack in TikTok but that not one cybersecurity agency in America, Taiwan, Europe, or anywhere else has found it, and that’s also eluded Apple and all white-hat independent researchers? Despite all the negative press (not to mention Congressional attention) it’s been getting?

Or that everybody is conspiring with China to keep the Chinese hack secret?

What TikTok does in the open is bad enough for it to deserve its reputation.

But if you think deleting the app isn’t enough to stop it from doing whatever it’s currently doing ...

… well, you have far, far, far worse to fear from China than TikTok. Starting with the phone itself that’s made in China, followed by the supply chain from the factory to the Chinese border, continuing with everybody who has a phone that’s been “inspected” by Chinese customs and immigration (very high chance it’s been physically compromised), and so on.

If you don’t fear any of that — and you shouldn’t, unless you’ve brought your phone with you to a visit to China or you’re a Chinese national, etc. — then just delete TikTok and be done with it.

b&

They’re all keeping a secret from us. Everyone is conspiring with the Chinese government to hide this big spying conspiracy

 

[Choco Taco]

Just deleting the app is all you have to do to completely remove any and all traces of TikTok from the phone. Wiping the phone is entirely unnecessary.

 

[ndouglas]

Not sure what the paranoia is about. TikTok is as invasive as Facebook and Instagram, and they track your interactions within the app. With App tracking protection, I doubt the app would track anything outside its sandboxed environment, unless the user explicitly allows it (eg allowing it to access contacts or location).

I'm not sure why people are so concerned with TikTok yet are fine with Facebook and Instagram. If there's a demand to ban one, the other should go as well as they're basically the same type of data harvester.

I was going to post something similar to this. —^ Tiktok getting more and more popular is an interesting thing to watch for me, having witnessed the ongoing, seemingly impossible to stop spreading, of all the top other apps like Instagram, FB, Twitter… it seems no matter what nefarious crap the apps do, not to mention no matter what heinous absurd actions and words come out of their CEOs mouths… people will still use them and keep them getting more and more popular. And so then Tiktok with the owned by China or affiliated with China comes along and does worse or more blatant data mining… but then do they or have they done anything worse or different than FB/Instagram? That question seems impossible to answer, at least so far…

 

[Reggaenald]

It is being reported that the app is tracking key strokes and monitoring all apps on the device. I just wanted to make sure she was not being tracked. I think there was a news report that said they advised deleting the app and getting a new phone. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks for the reply

Local news perhaps? Remember their names and ignore them the next time they speak. No need to get rid of a phone and get a new one.

 

[Reggaenald]

No one knows for sure how much of the app is left after deleting. Due to who owns it, you can not trust that deleting will be sufficient. Some say a new phone is the only way and if so would something remain in your data backup you used to restore your new device. There is a lot at stake here so people would go to great lengths to prevent us from getting rid of TicTok.

If only one engineer at Apple, or anyone else that knows the ins and outs of iPhones and their software, were to find a single trace of anything left by TikTok on a wiped phone, we would know.
„Some say“ but yet where is the data? Anything?

 

[Fat_Guy]

Local news perhaps? Remember their names and ignore them the next time they speak. No need to get rid of a phone and get a new one.

You mean like The Guardian:


https://amp.theguardian.com/technol...ther-sites-through-ios-app-new-research-shows



“Gal said TikTok “presents a different kind of risk” because of parent company ByteDance’s suspected ties to the Chinese Communist party. The surveillance functionality could be used to “gather as much information as possible for industrial espionage purposes, and shaping public opinion that is more toward their interests,” he said.”

I was going to post something similar to this. —^ Tiktok getting more and more popular is an interesting thing to watch for me, having witnessed the ongoing, seemingly impossible to stop spreading, of all the top other apps like Instagram, FB, Twitter… it seems no matter what nefarious crap the apps do, not to mention no matter what heinous absurd actions and words come out of their CEOs mouths… people will still use them and keep them getting more and more popular. And so then Tiktok with the owned by China or affiliated with China comes along and does worse or more blatant data mining… but then do they or have they done anything worse or different than FB/Instagram? That question seems impossible to answer, at least so far…

“Gal said Instagram and Facebook’s practices are almost as extensive as TikTok’s. “Their primary motivation is almost purely commercial and financial, whereas with TikTok, there is a national security element that I don’t think is directly present with the others.”


Yup nothing to worry about here…

 

[JM]

Absolutely serious about axing the phone in half. If Pegasus spyware can bypass iOS without Apple even knowing about it, who knows what else is possible.

Best to axe it into quarters and then bury it under concrete.

“Some people just want to watch the world burn”

😆

 

[JM]

Specifically to the OP.


As a compromise you could allow your kid to just use the web based portal and so the icon is on the home screen. So they can see their friends vids without the app on the phone.



The web based experience is miserable with it constantly pressuring you to get the app. Really, it is disquieting how they really push you to get the app. Anyway this would cut down on the use of the app while not ostracizing the kid from their friends.



Reality in the family is always another thing. Look at this as a teachable moment with your kid while allowing them some discretion in using it before it is banned.


As usual this is not me but my concerned friend. I know nothing of this stuff…

When I learned how much tracking data collection apps are capable of, I stopped downloading apps willy nilly.

And the constant pushing to “download the app! It’s better!” Nonsense makes perfect sense when you understand how much data company’s can glean from cellphone apps. 😒