For my blog project I am choosing to take a look into the Tiki’s Tok privacy statement. I chose Tik Tok because it really has gained popularity in the last few months. One of the things it is really known for though is for showing viewers content that is relevant to them. It is a common joke that TikTok is always listening and therefore can show you stuff that is relevant to you.
To start breaking down the privacy statement, there are a couple categories that TikTok uses to organize their privacy statement. Each section poses a question and I will talk about the important points from each section. Here is also a link of their privacy statement on their website: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en
What information do we collect?
- Tiktok takes: the information you register with, profile information such as username, profile pic, etc., user generated content, payment information (if applicable), phone and social media contacts when consent is given
How we use your information
- They first establish that they do not sell information to third parties for profit. They information that they do share with other companies is solely for the enhancement of the user’s experience on TikTok.
- They use our information to customize our content, send promotional material from trusted third parties, improve the user experience, inform algorithims, and app safety
How we share your information
- Information is shared within the TikTok corporate group and with business partners
- TikTok guarantees your data is secure and will not be shared without your consent and TikTok’s backing.
Your Rights
- You have the right to request for your information to be taken back by contacting TikTok.
Your Choices
- You are able to disable or refuse cookies by adjusting browser settings.
- You are able to customize third party advertising preferences and even opt out of some
Security
- TikTok does everything in their power to secure information but they do let the use know that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the share information. They establish that they are not responsible for the loss of any information.
Children
- Users under the age of 13 have added privacy due to their age.
- If the information of someone who has been identified under the age of 13, all the information linked with the account will be permanently deleted.
As you can see, the privacy statement is pretty lanky, and for good reason. TikTok just wants users to know that their information is being taken but only being used to enhance their experience and for certain trusted third parties. Information is safe with them and privacy should not be a worry for the user. I personally see no problem with this privacy statement. TikTok is a relatively new company so it hasn’t really been given the opportunity to mess up like a Facebook, so we can’t be sure that they are completely innocent yet, but so far so good for them. TikTok has become notorious for creating incredibly personalized content and this is because of the way they use personalized information to cater content for you. Everyone seems to turn a blind eye to this fact though because users are legitimately happy about the content they are receiving. TikTok did go through some controversy due to their connection with China. Donald Trump even threatened to ban TikTok because of this notion. Personally, I did not see anything in the privacy statement that would cause me to worry about China’s activity within TikTok and thankfully TikTok is still alive and running here in the states.
Next, I interviewed an anynomous peer of mine regarding thier usage of TikTok and their knowledge when it comes to privacy of information and other topics.
1 Are you on TikTok and if so how often do you use it? Ya I use TikTok probably about, I don’t know five times a week, whenever someone sends me a funny TikTok.
2 Do you find yourself same tiktok’s that are specific to you on the for you page and if so how do you think that is? Yeah I think the TikTok algorithm definitely works I see, like at the beginning I saw a wide variety of TikToks but now that I’ve liked the TikToks that I find funny I see lotta TikToks like that so I think the algorithm is working.
3 Do you have any worry regarding your information and privacy on TikTok? Not particularly, I don’t post a lot and the things that I like I don’t think say a whole lot about me.
4 Do you take any precaution in terms of hiding your identity on TickTock whether that be through your username of what not? I usually don’t post anything super personal about me on social media especially not TikTok.
Here is an audio recording:
In terms of what we have been learning in the class, this issue of privacy in social media is incredibly relevant. One reading that this ties into this topic is an article “Facebook Told Advertisers It Can Identify Teens Feeling ‘insecure’ and ‘Worthless.’” by Sam Levin. The article discusses how Facebook is able to sense teens’ emotions due to their algorithim and gathering of information through client tracking. This topic is incredibly relevant to TikTok because TikTok utilizes the same type of information tracking algorithims in order to cater certain TikTok’s for certain viewers. It seems that one can say that TikTok is a little better and more ethical with their use of information tracking because they use it to enhance the user experience while Facebook uses our information to sell for profit and other pretty unethical uses.
Sources:
Levin, Sam. “Facebook Told Advertisers It Can Identify Teens Feeling ‘insecure’ and ‘Worthless.’” The Guardian, 1 May 2017. www.theguar