[dayglored]

My take is that TikTok is spyware. I’m rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place.

Vulnerabilities happen in all software so companies have to be particularly careful about allowing apps tied to known malefactors, regardless of their popularity.

I continue to use Apple products (Macs, iPhones, iPads) because overall they appear to me to be the best mix of function, privacy, and data security. But nothing is perfect. I’d like to see Apple drop support for TikTok.

[Zhang Fei]

[My take is that TikTok is spyware. I’m rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place.

Vulnerabilities happen in all software so companies have to be particularly careful about allowing apps tied to known malefactors, regardless of their popularity.

I continue to use Apple products (Macs, iPhones, iPads) because overall they appear to me to be the best mix of function, privacy, and data security. But nothing is perfect. I’d like to see Apple drop support for TikTok. ]

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Thanks for the tip. I don’t use Tiktok (or Twitter or Facebook) and probably never will. But I’m just curious as to how vulnerable smartphone API’s are to a determined state actor like TikTok (because of the likely official embedding of Chinese government hackers or at least political officers among the programming staff).

[Swordmaker]

Dayglored said: “My take is that TikTok is spyware. I’m rather surprised that Apple permitted it in the App Store in the first place.” My response is that all apps that access the web have the potential to be spyware. In this instance, any app that has access to the clipboard and copy and paste can obviously paste what is currently in the paste buffer. That’s what this is all about! If that capability is there, it’s child’s play to send what’s in that buffer to the app’s server! Any browser or messenger app could do it. In fact, any connected app could. The question is, “do you trust the app publisher NOT to do it?” Why is TikTok any different from any other publisher except that it’s owned and controlled by the Chinese Communist Government. What do we put in our cut and paste clipboard might make all the difference. . . If it’s sensitive data, don’t leave it there in the buffer. Copy something else totally innocuous, such as a single word, “word” would be a good copy choice to leave in the buffer. Just don’t leave your secret plans to invade China, or the top secret, burn before reading, plans for the new Z bomb, in the buffer after you’ve finished sending them to your henchmen! —PING!

APPLE TikTok vulnerability? No, not really. . .
It’s FUD, Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, Again!
PING!

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