Tik Tok, currently the world’s most downloaded iPhone app, under fire over lack of privacy settings
Protections for users pale in comparison with rivals Facebook and Instagram, cybersecurity professionals say
The world’s current most downloaded iPhone app has come under fire from cybersecurity experts for a lack of privacy settings, just days after a Post investigation found hundreds of Hong Kong children as young as nine exposing their identities on the platform.
Despite its parent company being a tech pioneer valued at more than US$20 billion, protections for users of Tik Tok pale in comparison with rivals Facebook and Instagram, experts said.
Its sister app, Musical.ly, has already sparked concern in the United States and Australia over its failure to protect children from harassment, according to one of three experts interviewed by the Post.
“I think it does a lousy job of protecting child users’ privacy and safety compared with other mainstream platforms,” Hong Kong Information Technology Federation councillor Eric Fan Kin-man said after testing the app.
“It doesn’t seem to have any screening of underage users because eight out of 10 selfie videos I just saw are obviously by children.”