3 ms·

Yeah: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-china/indians-hold-funerals-for-soldiers-killed-at-china-border-burn-portraits-of-xi-idUKKBN23P0SS https://uk.reut

Yeah: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-china/indians-hold-funerals-for-soldiers-killed-at-china-border-burn-portraits-of-xi-idUKKBN23P0SS https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-china/indians-hold-f... China is basically using these apps as spyware.

enahs-sf 6y ago
This. Tiktok is clearly a data vacuum masquerading as a social media platform.
- AndrewUnmuted 6y ago
  Aren't all social media platforms guilty of being data vacuums?
  - bradleykingz 6y ago
    I'd rather not be feeding my draconian regime
    - SenoraRaton 6y ago
      ... You think the Google/Facebook/The US government aren't insidious agencies?
      - timmytokyo 6y ago
        The whataboutism in this thread is really tiresome. Engage an argument on its own merits. Don't rely on rhetorical fallacies. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
        kanox 6y ago
        Is it really whataboutism to compare TikTok with American social media apps? They seem to be very similar products and I'm not convinced that chinese applications collect more data. Shouldn't this be controlled by OS permissions anyway? There is nothing more to this than anti-chinese hysteria.
- braythwayt 6y ago
  > Tiktok is clearly a data vacuum masquerading as a social media platform For any value of "TikTok," including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, iMessage, gmail, &c.
  - takeda 6y ago
    I know (and in fact use) non-standard apps for Facebook and Reddit (they are superior IMO), does TikTok contain one?
    - yifanl 6y ago
      I can agree that allowing alternate clients is a step further than what Tiktok provides, but alternate clients are still piping your data into their vacuum.
mc32 6y ago
Is it coincidental or incidental to their border dispute actions?
- suyash 6y ago
  that may have escalated it but I think this was coming and honestly Chinese companies being in Gov's lap called upon itself.
dheera 6y ago
I run WeChat on a separate phone with LineageOS and monitor its actions via the XPosed framework. It regularly scans my Wi-Fi network, checks the list of installed apps, randomly accesses sensors, and does plenty of other dubious things. There was also a period of time where if you didn't give it Location permissions, it wouldn't let you login to WeChat. With LineageOS I was able to "give" it the permission but hand it fake sensor data instead of actual hardware data from the OS side. I'd never think to run WeChat on a closed-source OS like iOS that doesn't give access to these kinds of introspection. That said I don't necessarily think Facebook's or Google's set of apps are necessarily better in terms of spying, but at least it's possible to message people using a pure web interface without downloading anything, which WeChat doesn't let you do.
- kalesh 6y ago
  Do you know Android tracks your location even after turning on Airplane mode?
  - shripadk 6y ago
    GPS tracker works via satellite and is a receiver. It is not a transmitter. Airplane mode turns off cellular services. So realtime tracking is not possible unless Airplane mode is turned off. Android can record tracker information but it has no way of transmitting it if the phone is in Airplane mode.
    - kalesh 6y ago
      Yes & it immediately transmits once it comes back to cellular service.
      - lern_too_spel 6y ago
        You're confusing Android with iOS. Android builds with Google services let you disable A-GPS (and in fact ask you if you want it on initial setup). iOS does not.
- 6y ago
kalesh 6y ago
Our (India) data is already a public property due to security breaches in Aadhaar. What more can TikTok get?
- shripadk 6y ago
  Like your interests? Your behavior? Your realtime location? Your health issues? Your mood? Any event that is going on in your life? Like someone died, or someone is having a birthday or you are attending a wedding? Oh you have a wedding to attend do you? Here let me show you this ad for gifts that you can purchase at 50% discount. Oh but what about the dress that you need to wear? Here, buy this suit with 20% discount. Oh wait, you need to fly to say Delhi from your current location. Here let me offer you tickets to book your flights to at 10% discount. And while we are at it, let us retarget you endlessly, wherever you go, whichever site you visit! We will follow you. Until you buy one of the above! Do you not see how quickly one can profile with realtime access to data? Aadhaar breach did not even include biometrics. But I bet your phone (if Chinese made) with a fingerprint or face lock would not only have your biometrics but also know every single detail about you in realtime through these apps. Aadhaar data breach is pale in comparison to this! And you have been feeding realtime data to a draconian regime for the past decade. If Aadhaar data breach upsets you, you should be frightened with what data gets collected by these social media companies.
  - kalesh 6y ago
    Being on social media is a zero sum game. Either you use these platforms & give up your privacy or don't use them. These companies entire business model is about tracking your life. Aadhaar has data like DOB, PAN, Address, Passport details which can be used for identity theft etc. It's a nightmare once it happens to anyone.
    - shripadk 6y ago
      You asked what more does Tiktok (Social media) collect that Aadhaar doesn't already provide through a data breach? My answer was to that question. It has nothing to do with implications of an Aadhaar data breach. If that was your question, I would have answered that specifically. Now coming to your new point: The details that are taken by Social Media platforms are transferred to third-parties too. And identity theft is not as big a problem as invasive tracking and profiling is. Identity theft happened before Aadhaar existed and will continue to happen whether we have Aadhaar in the future or not. The former needs someone to actually misuse breached data. The latter is being misused in realtime. And what do you feed these social media companies apart from your realtime data? Your DOB, your address and your phone number. Then they ask you for verification that you are a real person and not a bot. For that you have to hand over your passport/aadhaar/voter ID/PAN or any detail that will confirm your identity and address location! Like I said, you can't even compare the two! Aadhaar is nothing in comparison to what is collected by social media companies and handed over to third-parties like Cambridge Analytica. And if you think you can dox someone only through Aadhaar then you are so wrong my friend. You can literally dox anyone who has interacted online to some significant degree. Traces of their digital footprint is left every where on the internet to be exploited.

enahs-sf 6y ago

This. Tiktok is clearly a data vacuum masquerading as a social media platform.

AndrewUnmuted 6y ago
Aren't all social media platforms guilty of being data vacuums?
- bradleykingz 6y ago
  I'd rather not be feeding my draconian regime
  - SenoraRaton 6y ago
    ... You think the Google/Facebook/The US government aren't insidious agencies?
    - timmytokyo 6y ago
      The whataboutism in this thread is really tiresome. Engage an argument on its own merits. Don't rely on rhetorical fallacies. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
      - kanox 6y ago
        Is it really whataboutism to compare TikTok with American social media apps? They seem to be very similar products and I'm not convinced that chinese applications collect more data. Shouldn't this be controlled by OS permissions anyway? There is nothing more to this than anti-chinese hysteria.
braythwayt 6y ago
> Tiktok is clearly a data vacuum masquerading as a social media platform For any value of "TikTok," including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, iMessage, gmail, &c.
- takeda 6y ago
  I know (and in fact use) non-standard apps for Facebook and Reddit (they are superior IMO), does TikTok contain one?
  - yifanl 6y ago
    I can agree that allowing alternate clients is a step further than what Tiktok provides, but alternate clients are still piping your data into their vacuum.

mc32 6y ago

Is it coincidental or incidental to their border dispute actions?

suyash 6y ago
that may have escalated it but I think this was coming and honestly Chinese companies being in Gov's lap called upon itself.

dheera 6y ago

I run WeChat on a separate phone with LineageOS and monitor its actions via the XPosed framework. It regularly scans my Wi-Fi network, checks the list of installed apps, randomly accesses sensors, and does plenty of other dubious things. There was also a period of time where if you didn't give it Location permissions, it wouldn't let you login to WeChat. With LineageOS I was able to "give" it the permission but hand it fake sensor data instead of actual hardware data from the OS side. I'd never think to run WeChat on a closed-source OS like iOS that doesn't give access to these kinds of introspection. That said I don't necessarily think Facebook's or Google's set of apps are necessarily better in terms of spying, but at least it's possible to message people using a pure web interface without downloading anything, which WeChat doesn't let you do.

kalesh 6y ago
Do you know Android tracks your location even after turning on Airplane mode?
- shripadk 6y ago
  GPS tracker works via satellite and is a receiver. It is not a transmitter. Airplane mode turns off cellular services. So realtime tracking is not possible unless Airplane mode is turned off. Android can record tracker information but it has no way of transmitting it if the phone is in Airplane mode.
  - kalesh 6y ago
    Yes & it immediately transmits once it comes back to cellular service.
    - lern_too_spel 6y ago
      You're confusing Android with iOS. Android builds with Google services let you disable A-GPS (and in fact ask you if you want it on initial setup). iOS does not.
6y ago

kalesh 6y ago

Our (India) data is already a public property due to security breaches in Aadhaar. What more can TikTok get?

shripadk 6y ago
Like your interests? Your behavior? Your realtime location? Your health issues? Your mood? Any event that is going on in your life? Like someone died, or someone is having a birthday or you are attending a wedding? Oh you have a wedding to attend do you? Here let me show you this ad for gifts that you can purchase at 50% discount. Oh but what about the dress that you need to wear? Here, buy this suit with 20% discount. Oh wait, you need to fly to say Delhi from your current location. Here let me offer you tickets to book your flights to at 10% discount. And while we are at it, let us retarget you endlessly, wherever you go, whichever site you visit! We will follow you. Until you buy one of the above! Do you not see how quickly one can profile with realtime access to data? Aadhaar breach did not even include biometrics. But I bet your phone (if Chinese made) with a fingerprint or face lock would not only have your biometrics but also know every single detail about you in realtime through these apps. Aadhaar data breach is pale in comparison to this! And you have been feeding realtime data to a draconian regime for the past decade. If Aadhaar data breach upsets you, you should be frightened with what data gets collected by these social media companies.
- kalesh 6y ago
  Being on social media is a zero sum game. Either you use these platforms & give up your privacy or don't use them. These companies entire business model is about tracking your life. Aadhaar has data like DOB, PAN, Address, Passport details which can be used for identity theft etc. It's a nightmare once it happens to anyone.
  - shripadk 6y ago
    You asked what more does Tiktok (Social media) collect that Aadhaar doesn't already provide through a data breach? My answer was to that question. It has nothing to do with implications of an Aadhaar data breach. If that was your question, I would have answered that specifically. Now coming to your new point: The details that are taken by Social Media platforms are transferred to third-parties too. And identity theft is not as big a problem as invasive tracking and profiling is. Identity theft happened before Aadhaar existed and will continue to happen whether we have Aadhaar in the future or not. The former needs someone to actually misuse breached data. The latter is being misused in realtime. And what do you feed these social media companies apart from your realtime data? Your DOB, your address and your phone number. Then they ask you for verification that you are a real person and not a bot. For that you have to hand over your passport/aadhaar/voter ID/PAN or any detail that will confirm your identity and address location! Like I said, you can't even compare the two! Aadhaar is nothing in comparison to what is collected by social media companies and handed over to third-parties like Cambridge Analytica. And if you think you can dox someone only through Aadhaar then you are so wrong my friend. You can literally dox anyone who has interacted online to some significant degree. Traces of their digital footprint is left every where on the internet to be exploited.