How TikTok spies on iOS and what you can do to protect yourself

After having his hands full with Meta, Felix Krause is now going to focus his attention on TikTok. The creator of Fastlane, an open-source program that helps developers build applications for iOS and Android platforms, had a look at the situation with the Chinese application. It is not significantly more glorious than the ones that came before it. Once again, the integrated web browser was the feature that particularly piqued his interest.

Many links to websites outside of the social network are provided there. They provide immediate access to the advertiser’s website, for instance, which is useful in the context of advertising. The page will typically open up directly from the application in most cases. The user can anticipate a more enjoyable experience as a result, but there is no guarantee that this will be the case. The social networking site seizes the chance to get some of its users’ information.

TikTok inserts lines of JavaScript code into websites that are accessed on an iOS device to display adverts that are ever more relevant to the user. The objective is to monitor your activity on the internet and present you with advertisements for things that you may already be familiar with or that attract your eye. This method is utilized by Facebook as well as Instagram and TikTok, with the exception that TikTok takes it a step further than the other two platforms. Additionally, the program is capable of knowing anything that is typed on your priceless Apple handsets.

TIKTOK can view all your passwords.

The procedure is broken down in great depth in Felix Krause’s study, which was published by Forbes. In a more concrete sense, the code that TikTok has embedded can track all of your moves across the web. In addition to this, it can access any passwords or identifiers that you use. This is accomplished by monitoring everything that you enter on the keypad of your iPhone. According to Krause, “From a technological point of view, this is akin to installing a keylogger on third-party websites.” 

However, he continues by saying, “Just because a program injects JavaScript into an external website does not guarantee that it is being malevolent.” However, he claims that it was a very deliberate move on his part. “It’s not a mistake, and it’s not a coincidence. It is up to the firm to make that decision.

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