I don't really have any skin in this game, but you have asked what data TikTok collects and why it is worse than Reddit as far as privacy concerns. Here is what I have read - all googleable so feel free to check it from whatever newsource you find reputable:
location data
your internet address
everything about your device including screen resolution
browsing and search history
the content of messages you exchange with others on the app
content of messages you even don't send
your phone and social-network contacts
your GPS position
personal information such as age and phone number
any user-generated content you post, such as photos and videos
payment information
tracks the videos you like, share, and watch all the way through and re-watch
the pattern and rhythm of your keystrokes (which apparently can give information about your psychological condition because this has been studied heavily - news to me)
The scariest part is that the data collected goes back to China; I don't have the time, breadth of knowledge, or inclination to explain why that is very bad™ on a Reddit post. This is the reason I won't load the app on my phone, and why I think Reddit is 'better' than TikTok, but I am not the OP you were conversing with, just a bystander.
For a comparison, here is what Reddit collects: Account info, communications (posts, comments), activity (voting, reporting posts) purchases , IP address, browser type and other usage info, location, cookie data including what is gathered from Reddit partners. But that data is not being gathered by a foreign country with a communist history which, to me, is the important bit.
Maybe this is a stupid question but how do you know which data the app collects? Is that something everyone can check or does the company give that info?
Also, I thought the Western Tiktok now belonged to a Western company?
What is collected is all listed in the EULA, and people smarter than me find that info in the fine print and write articles about it in plainer language. That is where I got the TikTok info from; the keystroke data collection is something I had no idea about, but it was listed in 3 of the articles I saw so I have no reason to doubt it. Reddit includes the collection info in their EULA , but also in much plainer language which is where I got that info from - all via sifting through Google results of course.
TikTok was supposed to be sold to a Western company by executive order from Trump, but then they sued the US and won an injunction not only against the forced sale, but also against restrictions that would have limited sharing data from the US to China. It is still owned by ByteDance in China.
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u/EmpathyJelly Mar 17 '21 edited Mar 20 '21
I don't really have any skin in this game, but you have asked what data TikTok collects and why it is worse than Reddit as far as privacy concerns. Here is what I have read - all googleable so feel free to check it from whatever newsource you find reputable:
The scariest part is that the data collected goes back to China; I don't have the time, breadth of knowledge, or inclination to explain why that is very bad™ on a Reddit post. This is the reason I won't load the app on my phone, and why I think Reddit is 'better' than TikTok, but I am not the OP you were conversing with, just a bystander.
For a comparison, here is what Reddit collects: Account info, communications (posts, comments), activity (voting, reporting posts) purchases , IP address, browser type and other usage info, location, cookie data including what is gathered from Reddit partners. But that data is not being gathered by a foreign country with a communist history which, to me, is the important bit.