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TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

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Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#321

Post by derkades »

sayhar wrote: post #284
ncpa-cpl wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they use the SIM card country ID and also the ad audience categories to suggest content. For example swapping the SIM card with a fresh installation of TikTok shows different "local" videos. Even if the public IP address is unchanged like when using WiFi instead of Data. I've also think they use ad categories to suggest videos. Using a fresh TikTok installation and then spending some time navigating a subredd…

How could they tell you were on that subreddit? Presumably you were doing it from a separate browser on the phone -- can they really snoop on behavior in completely separate apps?

Indeed they shouldn't be able to know that without deliberately bypassing the phone's security features using vulnerabilities. Maybe confirmation bias is at play here?

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#322

Post by Retric »

friedman23 wrote: post #313
beepbooptheory wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well then I guess there is nothing left to say, as there is absolutely nothing that can be falsified in your beliefs, only the single-minded faith in an absolute national enemy. I only wish y'all could hear yourselves when you say these things, with even a fraction more rational clarity, even an ounce more suspicion of the political narratives at work here. These conversations are deeply troubling to me, makes me abs…

> Well then I guess there is nothing left to say, as there is absolutely nothing that can be falsified in your beliefs, only the single-minded faith in an absolute national enemy. Got it, so since you couldn't argue against my statements with reason you are now attacking my character. > makes me absolutely ashamed to be a westerner of any sorts Absolutely nobody that is from the west calls themselves a westerner what…

There is also serious mistrust of the Chinese government by the citizens of China. They just rarely communicate it as there is real risks to doing so.

It feels so bizarre to have someone convey seething hate for the government in private while seemingly being supportive in public. What is less obvious is how brittle it makes the country, it could literally dissolve into anarchy tomorrow or last for hundreds of years.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#323

Post by sidlls »

Osmium wrote: post #315
hammock wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For other people, they would barely recognize TikTok on the basis of this description. Not following. Who are the "other people" and how would they describe it otherwise?

TikTok has a very good algorithm for suggesting content for users, and this can end up with different users being exposed to radically different subsets of content offered through TikTok: in scientific terms, it’s very easy to get stuck in different local minima. So for many users, TikTok will not involve “showing off to friends”, will not involve audio trends, and will not involve memes at all. These users would des…

Yes, the algorithm is a poor algorithm that overfits. It is not a good algorithm by any reasonable measure, unless the intent specifically is to commit users to such a funnel.

Whether the content is stupid cat videos or a DIY isn't relevant to my original point: it's short-form video content developed by people attempting to cash in on some meme (or niche), and very much in the vein of showing off for one's peers. Some like to think that if it's not an audio meme, but rather an undergrad waxing poetic about just learning Schrodinger's Equation or some handy person displaying his DIY skills that it's not about cashing in/showing off. But it is.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#324

Post by yorwba »

vineyardmike wrote: post #306
yorwba wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that TikTok employee you know have access to user data?

Does it matter? The presence of an office full of people in china means that there is an office full of people that can be exploited and controlled by the Chinese government. Also, until recently they employed moderators in china, who by definition have access to customer data. So yes, the Chinese offices have/had access to customer data.

Many globally operating software companies have offices full of people in China, but presumably they have access controls in place to minimize the risk of data exfiltration.

On the other hand, many of the same companies have been involved in scandals where employees abused their position to stalk people or whatever, so maybe their access controls aren't actually that strict.

So it would've been interesting to hear about TikTok's internal security culture.

I'm not sure whether I'd call what moderators get "access to customer data", since it's not like they're in control, right? And aren't the posts they're moderating usually public anyway?

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#325

Post by wbsss4412 »

dumb1224 wrote: post #312
ipaddr wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a little different with the nsa tapping the underwater cable trying to steal info where in China they create an internet where they hire millions of people to watch every conversation happening in real time. One couldn't say the same.. at all.

> watch every conversation happening in real time Eh.... are you sure? A lot of my childhood friends are now working in various ares of what you might consider 'authoritative post' or the infamous 有关部门 but I think it's still a bit too divorced from reality. Censorship and blatant blockage for sure but millions spying on billions in real time? I don't think that's how they work.

Yes, parent’s assertion is fairly preposterous. There is no way one could conduct surveillance on that scale in a non automated fashion. There are too many resources required.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#326

Post by Diesel555 »

bduerst wrote: post #206
selfportrait wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t refute anything you say, but linking to a page that features Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and Tucker Carlson doesn’t help your case. Not to mention the clear partisanship and call for donation to the “American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology” - a rabbit hole I’m happy to avoid.

Isn't the whole, "TikTok spies for China" meme also politically motivated, per the last Republican president? I don't doubt that Bytedance shares Chinese TouTiao user data with the Chinese government, akin to how Apple does it with iCloud, but Bytedance has been pretty adamant that TikTok is external to China and doesn't share data. Even when there was an executive order to ban TikTok for being a national security th…

To answer your question on evidence, when I'm looking for information on politically charged questions I often reference the Congressional Research Service whose purpose it is to take complex issues and boil them down to something digestible and generally apolitical for Congress (I know that's hard to believe, but I've read a lot of them, they are way less political than most other sources I find).

Here is the one on TikTok with references.

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46543

I was going to give quotes from the CRS, but there are so many.

If you want to learn about current issues just go to the home page and search with an empty search field.

https://crsreports.congress.gov

I check it daily.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#327

Post by relaxing »

hammock wrote: post #277
Osmium wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm in my mid-40s: there's nothing deep or mysterious to "get" about TikTok. It's short-form video snips/vignettes, mainly of people showing off for their friends, trying to cash in on short-lived audio trends and meme pipelines, and sometimes both. What this misses is that TikTok is a radically different experience for different people. For some people, this description is very accurate. For other people, they wou…

>For other people, they would barely recognize TikTok on the basis of this description. Not following. Who are the "other people" and how would they describe it otherwise?

Because Tiktok aggressively individualizes the content shown, people with different tastes get radically different videos shown.

If you skip past the memes, fads, dances, etc. it will show you other types of content until it identifies what you will stop scrolling to watch.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#328

Post by relaxing »

sidlls wrote: post #323
Osmium wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok has a very good algorithm for suggesting content for users, and this can end up with different users being exposed to radically different subsets of content offered through TikTok: in scientific terms, it’s very easy to get stuck in different local minima. So for many users, TikTok will not involve “showing off to friends”, will not involve audio trends, and will not involve memes at all. These users would des…

Yes, the algorithm is a poor algorithm that overfits. It is not a good algorithm by any reasonable measure, unless the intent specifically is to commit users to such a funnel. Whether the content is stupid cat videos or a DIY isn't relevant to my original point: it's short-form video content developed by people attempting to cash in on some meme (or niche), and very much in the vein of showing off for one's peers. So…

Of course the intent is to commit users to a funnel or funnels.

I still don’t think you get that when you complain about the content being trite or juvenile or commercial(?), you’re outing yourself as someone who will stop to watch that kind of stuff.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#329

Post by wolverine876 »

robbedpeter wrote: post #5

It's not unclear at all. It's Chinese data harvesting software. They'll do token public appeasement to avoid negative pressure, but every feature in the app is designed to collect biometrics and behavioral data. China is not a good faith operator. Given the data needed to influence public opinion and voting, they will engage in manipulation favorable to their interests. That alone is sufficient to run tiktok at a los…

What social media company is in good faith? Facebook?

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#330

Post by wolverine876 »

yibg wrote: post #119
cm2012 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok should be banned in the US. China banned all of our homegrown social networks, its pretty standard international precedent to ban theirs, given the security risks.

I’d rather have a generally applicable law in place. If we think massive data collection shouldn’t be allowed then ban that.

I agree, but for everyone, including Facebook, etc. Why focus on TikTok?
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