Privacy analysis of Tiktok’s app and website (rufposten.de)

Article summary

A detailed privacy analysis of TikTok's app and website found multiple law infringements, trust, transparency, and data protection breaches. The analysis used mitmproxy to re-route all app traffic and found that device information, usage time, and watched videos are being sent to Appsflyer and Facebook. The transfers to these companies are conflicting with the GDPR, and the data transfer to Appsflyer lacks transparency. The analysis also found that TikTok is using device fingerprinting and audio fingerprinting to identify visitors.

Main themes

• TikTok privacy
• GDPR compliance
• Data protection
• Device fingerprinting
• Surveillance capitalism

What commenters say

• The GDPR is not being effectively enforced, allowing companies like TikTok to violate user privacy with impunity. Some commenters argue that technology cannot prevent companies from breaking the law, and that the burden of compliance should not be shifted to the infrastructure. Others propose that legislation is the only way to fix the issue of data tracking and privacy violations. The use of cookies and other tracking methods is a violation of the GDPR and Eprivacy laws, but some argue that cookies are not inherently against the GDPR if used for necessary site functionality. Some commenters believe that going after the companies providing SDKs, rather than individual apps, could have a greater impact on stopping data tracking. The effectiveness of browser extensions and other methods for blocking fingerprinting is debated, with some arguing that they are not sufficient to protect user privacy. There are also discussions about the possibility of randomizing or obfuscating canvas and audio fingerprints to prevent tracking.