"TikTok is growing its data harvesting empire, and avoiding the app won't protect you but some easy steps can keep you safe. TikTok keeps track of everything you do on its app no surprises there. What's less obvious is how the company follows you around other parts of the internet that have nothing to do with TikTok. In fact, TikTok collects sensitive and potentially embarrassing information about you even if you've never used the app."
"Over the past week, I've watched websites sending TikTok data about cancer diagnoses, fertility and even mental health crises. It's part of a tracking empire that extends far beyond the social media platform. Now, thanks to a new set of features, TikTok is poised to expand its network and see even more details about your life. The change comes just weeks after the sale of TikTok's US operations to a group of companies with ties to US President Donald Trump."
"The issue centres around major changes to TikTok's "pixel", a tracking tool that companies use to monitor your online behaviour. I asked a cybersecurity company called Disconnect to analyse it. They found the updated TikTok pixel collects information in unusual ways compared to its competitors. "It's extremely invasive," says Patrick Jackson, chief technology officer at Disconnect. "This expanded data sharing, when you do analysis of the actual pixel code, you see things that look really bad.""
TikTok tracks activity both inside its app and across unrelated websites using an updated tracking pixel. The pixel transmits detailed user actions and identifiers to TikTok, sometimes including sensitive health information submitted on third-party sites. Cybersecurity researchers at Disconnect found the new pixel behaves differently from competitors and described its expanded data sharing as extremely invasive. Upcoming feature changes will broaden TikTok's tracking reach. The recent sale of US operations to firms linked to President Trump has increased privacy concerns. Quick privacy steps can reduce exposure and prevent personal details being sent to TikTok.
Read at www.bbc.com
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