TikTok has allegedly been violating its own privacy policy and Google’s privacy rules to secretly track Android users. A new report that was published in the Wall Street Journal states that the company performed tracking techniques on its Andriod users for roughly 15 months after researchers uncovered the app linking new installs to the device’s unchangeable MAC address. This process allowed the app to circumvent Google’s policy to allow users to reset IDs used for ad tracking.
According to the report, TikTok’s data was also protected by an “unusual” layer of encryption. The allegations against the social media platform are likely linked to advertising. The incident draws parallels with a previous customer privacy breach in which TikTok was able to access users’ clipboards caught by Apple’s iOS 14 beta. The report also exposes the fact that the app lacks sufficient cybersecurity standards that a platform of its size and reach should contain. The report states that TikTok stopped this practice last November.
Read More: TikTok Caught Breaking Google Rules To Secretly Track Android Users—Report
