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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
by ncpa-cpl 5y ago
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 subreddit of a topic, would likely show videos of that topic the next time you open TikTok.
- Etheryte 5y agoThis would make sense on Android, however as far as I've checked, on iOS you can't get this information precisely to reduce tracking.
- sayhar 5y agoHow 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?
- derkades 5y agoIndeed 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?
- ncpa-cpl 5y agoI guess it could be the same IPv6 address, or IPv4 + user agent matching with a third party ad categorization service.
- ncpa-cpl 5y ago> 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? The subreddit was opened in an incognito window, and the native app on the same phone.
- jiux 5y ago+1 on the SIM theory. Carrier, iso country code, mobile country code, mobile network code, and more are all easily accessible data attributes.