TikTok exploited an Android privacy loophole to track users

[Chris Smith]

• The popular TikTok app has been collecting personally identifiable user data, a new investigation shows.
• TikTok exploited a still-active loophole that allowed it to bypass Google’s privacy requirements for Android app developers.
• TikTok accessed MAC addresses on Android for at 15 months and used an additional layer of encryption to hide this collection of data.
• The TikTok user tracking feature was removed in November, at a time when Google was already aware that apps were exploiting the Android security loophole.

ByteDance and its popular app TikTok have faced intense scrutiny in the US lately, with the Trump administration accusing voicing security concerns about the app. The government shared its fears that the app could collect user data that could then be used by the Chinese government, and told ByteDance to sell its TikTok operations in America. Separately, Trump issued a new executive order that would prevent ByteDance from doing business in the States.

It turns out there is a cause of concern when it comes to user data. TikTok has been collecting sensitive data from Android users up until last November, taking advantage of an Android loophole that other apps use, skirting Google’s privacy rules for Android. It’s not just TikTok at fault for tracking users, as Google had not patched that exploit even though it knew about its existence.

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TikTok exploited an Android privacy loophole to track users originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 12 Aug 2020 at 07:31:20 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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