Know About The Most-Liked App by Teenagers TikTok Security Flaw
Published on : Saturday 11-04-2020
TikTok, China’s popular video-sharing app, has now become the world’s most-liked app by teenagers. As of 2020, the smartphone app best-loved by new age groups and used by millions of people across the world. But TikTok has multiple security flaws, as it had found vulnerabilities to hackers that could take control of TikTok accounts and maneuver the content, upload and delete videos and disclose personal information like private email addresses.
In January this year, Israel-based cybersecurity company Check Point had found cybersecurity weaknesses in TikTok that would have enabled cyber attackers to send users messages that carried malicious links. The firm also revealed that it is very easier to send a standard text message to any phone number on behalf of TikTok. On the app’s own site, there is a function that permits users to send a text message to themselves so they can download the app.
At present, TikTok has become the fastest growing social media channel worldwide which draws an alternative version of online sharing. The China-based app lets users create short videos with music, filters, and some other functionality. Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok crossed 1 billion marks worldwide in terms of installs on the Apple App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower data published in February 2019.
Privacy Issues
As teenagers mostly use TikTok, the concern over data privacy is evident. In this way, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in February last year alleged the video-sharing app illegally collected personal information from children. After then, TikTok agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle the FTC’s complaint, filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ), saying that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Through this act, websites and online services require to direct children under 13 to get parental consent before the company collects personal information.
Also, TikTok is being investigated by the United Kingdom's Information Commissioner’s Office to resolve if it violated the European Union’s data privacy law called GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The law requires companies to provide specific protections related to children and their data.
If we look at TikTok’s privacy policy, we could find that the company collects contact details, content users create, and their location. It also collects information contained in the messages users send through their Platform and information from their phone book only if users grant the company access to their phone book on their mobile device.