Safeguarding Your Privacy on TikTok
Understanding TikTok’s Data Collection
The widely known social media platform, TikTok, has been under scrutiny lately due to its privacy policies and its collection of personal data. As a platform user, it’s important to have a greater understanding of what personal data the platform automatically collects.
Device Data Collection:
As stated in TikTok’s Privacy Policy, updated May 22, 2023, the platform collects information about the devices used to access their platform. This information includes anything from the user’s “IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types” (TikTok, 2023). This also includes collecting keystroke patterns or rhythms, and audio setting data.
Image and Audio Data Collection:
Through user-generated content, TikTok is granted access to identify objects and scenery that appear, the existence and location within an image of the face, body features and attributes, the nature of the audio, and the text of the words spoken. As stated under United States law, TikTok is granted access to collect biometric identifiers and information, such as faceprints and voiceprints.
Metadata Collection:
Whenever users upload content to the platform, specific metadata that is associated with the content is automatically collected by TikTok. This metadata can describe “how, when, where, and by whom the piece of User Content was created, collected, or modified and how that content is formatted” (TikTok, 2023).
Protecting Your Privacy
After gaining a better understanding of the data TikTok collects, users must take the necessary steps to protect their privacy. Here are three ways users can protect their privacy according to TikTok’s Privacy Policy.
1. Submit a request to know, access, correct, or delete information TikTok has collected about you:
TikTok provides its users with the right to know what personal data they have collected. This includes sharing which categories of sources the personal information is collected, the business or commercial purpose of collecting or sharing information, the categories of third parties they share your data to, and specific pieces of personal information they have collected. To submit a request, users can visit TikTok’s Privacy Report page.
2. Control some of the information collected by disabling browser cookies:
Disabling your browser’s cookies limits some of the information collected by TikTok. However, as noted in their privacy policy, this may take away certain functionalities of the platform. To disable your cookies, visit the instructions provided by your browser.
3. Leverage device setting to limit what information is collected:
Users can visit their device settings to limit what information TikTok collects. The example provided by TikTok states, “You can control whether we can collect your mobile advertising identifier for advertising through settings on your Apple and Android devices” (TikTok, 2023).
By following these privacy measures, you take back some control of the personal data TikTok has access to and collects. It’s important for users to understand how to protect their privacy better when using TikTok and other social media platforms.
To learn about the information TikTok collects, visit the “What Information We Collect” section in TikTok’s privacy policy.
To learn about more ways to protect your privacy, visit the links below:
