TikTok has grown to become one of the most popular social media apps, with over 1 billion monthly active users. However, concerns have been raised that the app may be spying on Android users by collecting large amounts of data without consent. While TikTok states it takes privacy seriously, the amount of data the app can access has alarmed security experts.
What Permissions Does TikTok Request on Android?
Like most apps, TikTok requests access to certain features and data on your device when you install it. Here are some of the main permissions TikTok asks for on Android:
- Camera – To take videos and photos within the app
- Microphone – To record audio for videos
- Location – To tag videos with location data
- Contacts – To find friends already on TikTok
- Storage – To save videos created within the app
- SMS – Unknown purpose, very intrusive permission
These permissions are quite standard for a social media app focused on creating and sharing videos. However, security experts point out that the SMS and location permissions in particular give TikTok extensive access to private user data.
How Much Data is TikTok Collecting?
Research indicates TikTok is collecting a very large amount of data from Android phones:
- When you first open the app, before even creating an account, TikTok immediately starts collecting data. This includes your device info, network info, and browsing history.
- Before you can use the app at all, TikTok collects your email address, age, phone number, and other personal info during account creation.
- TikTok accesses both the front and back camera, microphone, calendar, network data, and other sensors even when you are not using the app.
- Location data including your real-time location, WiFi network info, and other identifying info is continuously collected.
- TikTok reads all links you copy to your clipboard when using other apps.
This data allows TikTok to build very extensive user profiles detailing online activity, interests, personal info, social connections, location history, and more.
Is TikTok Data Collection Excessive?
Comparatively, TikTok appears to collect much more user data than other social media apps like Facebook or Instagram. Even when you are not using TikTok, it runs continuously in the background collecting data.
Specific concerns around TikTok’s data harvesting include:
- No transparency about how all this data is used by TikTok
- Data sent to servers in China, subject to Chinese government surveillance
- Excessive data collection even when app is not in use
- Access to SMS gives insight into private messages and authentication codes
TikTok has not provided clear justification for why it needs access to so much personal data. The app could likely function nearly as well with reduced data collection. The broad access raises fears the data may be exploited for advertising or government surveillance.
Does TikTok Share Data with the Chinese Government?
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. As a Chinese company, ByteDance would be legally compelled to share data with the government upon request under China’s national intelligence law.
Because of this, there are fears that TikTok’s data collection could be used to spy on foreign citizens and build profiles on millions of Americans and other TikTok users out of China.
TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing data with the Chinese government. However, security experts argue that the broad data collection paired with China’s intrusive laws leaves users exposed regardless of TikTok’s intentions.
Does TikTok Allow Other Apps to Access Your Data?
In addition to its own data gathering, TikTok’s Android application allows other apps on your phone to “piggyback” on its permissions to access your data.
For example, if TikTok has access to your location, calendar, or other sensitive information, any app on your phone can potentially leverage TikTok to gather that same data without asking for permissions itself.
This provides a major loophole that allows apps to avoid scrutiny for data gathering by using TikTok’s permissions instead of their own. This could allow malware or spyware to harvest data without detection.
Can You Use TikTok More Privately on Android?
If you want to use TikTok but are concerned about privacy, there are some steps you can take to lock down data access on Android phones:
- Only run TikTok when the app is open on your screen. Force close it when you are done using it.
- Disable location services, microphone, and camera access for TikTok in your phone’s settings.
- Turn off ads personalization and disable targeted ads.
- Avoid linking contacts, emails, or other social media accounts.
- Create an account with minimal personal info and don’t add a profile photo.
- Don’t grant access to SMS messages or your photo gallery.
However, fully preventing TikTok from collecting data requires not installing it at all. The app still functions with reduced permissions, but limits your ability to create content.
Third-Party Apps Claim to Limit TikTok Data Access
A number of third-party Android apps claim they can limit TikTok’s data gathering. These include:
- TikTok Anti Track – Removes trackers and ads from the TikTok app
- TikTok Privacy Control – Allows revoking app permissions after install
- AntiTrack for TikTok – Blocks communication between TikTok and remote servers
- TikTok Guard – Removes ads, blocks analytics/tracking
However, be very cautious before installing any third-party apps that claim to enhance TikTok privacy. Many contain malware or simply don’t work as advertised. Manual app permission management is safer.
The Bottom Line on TikTok and Android Privacy
TikTok collects an alarming amount of personal data from Android phones. Its intrusive background data gathering, combined with its Chinese ownership, raises credible fears about government spying and exploitation of private data.
While TikTok claims it protects user privacy, independent audits are needed to confirm these statements. Until then, users should be very selective about what data they allow TikTok to access.
Turning off permissions and limiting your activity on the app can help improve privacy. But the only way to fully protect your data is avoiding TikTok entirely. Users should think carefully about the risks before using TikTok.
