TikTok’s New Privacy Policy Will Allow The App To Collect Biometric Data

TikTok is undoubtedly a fun app to use, but if you’re concerned about your privacy, you might want to stop using it, or at least recording yourself with it. This is because according to a report from TechCrunch, they noticed a change to TikTok’s user privacy policy in which the company essentially gave themselves permission to collect your biometric data.

This includes data such as your faceprints and voice prints, but exactly what they plan to use that data for is unclear. When the publication reached out to the company for clarification, a spokesperson for TikTok said that it would ask for user consent when the data collection process begins.

However, as TechCrunch points out, TikTok’s privacy policy is worded in such a way that it would only seek consent only when legally required to. The policy reads in part, “We may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information as defined under US laws, such as faceprints and voiceprints, from your User Content. Where required by law, we will seek any required permissions from you prior to any such collection.”

Prior to this, the app was already found to have been collecting user data without informing them. This was only discovered in iOS 14 where Apple made it so that users would be notified whenever an app attempts to read information from the user’s clipboard. TikTok defended the decision saying it was to combat spammy behavior, but it was later removed.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Apps, Privacy, Social Hit, tiktok