Anonymous asks for TikTok to be deleted; Learn more

[bitheerani42135]

The app is being accused of being part of a massive espionage operation operated by the Chinese government; the app would have access to the hardware and network information of cell phones.
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While TikTok is rising in the rankings of the most popular apps of 2020, its reputation is constantly under attack. In recent months, allegations greece mobile database been made that the app is sharing user information with the Chinese government. This has even led the United States to announce the possibility of banning it from its territory. Now, the famous hacker network Anonymous has endorsed the list of entities that advise against its use.

On July 1, the group posted on its Twitter account : “Delete TikTok now; if you know anyone using it, explain that it is essentially malware operated by the Chinese government that is conducting massive espionage.”



Delete TikTok now; if you know someone that is using it explain to them it is essentially malware operated by the Chinese government running a massive spying operation. https://t.co/J7N9FS7PvG

— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) July 1, 2020

The tweet was made in response to another post on the social network, which exposed what a Reddit user had allegedly discovered by rummaging through the app's code. According to the author of the post, this is the information that TikTok would have access to:

Phone hardware (CPU type, screen size and resolution, memory usage, disk space, etc.)
Other applications installed on the phone, including those that have been recently deleted
Network information such as Wi-Fi and router IP
The presence of root or jailbreak on the device
Real-time location updated every 30 seconds
The author of the post also says that the app makes it difficult to analyze the code with an algorithm that changes with each update, “so that no one knows what information they are obtaining”.

“I’ve done the same thing with Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and Facebook. The amount of data they collect is nowhere near what TikTok does, and they certainly don’t try to hide what they’re doing. It’s like comparing a glass of water to the ocean,” he adds.

According to Anonymous, TikTok is linked to the Chinese government; the app denies it. Image: Pixabay

In a statement to a Spanish newspaper, the app said that it “takes the accusations made seriously” and that it has partnered with world-class security companies to assess and correct potential issues related to user privacy.

Regarding its association with the Chinese government, TikTok claimed that it is led by an American CEO and has hundreds of employees — including in the security sector — in the United States.