Leaf&Core

American TikTok has Scary Privacy Issues: Delete Your Account Now, Without Agreeing to the New Terms

Danielle from Leaf and Core
Reading Time: 5 minutes.

TikTok logo with an eye, repeated a bunch of timesWhen the United States talked about banning TikTok, it was clearly problematic. Yes, algorithmic feeds allow corporations to push material at users and that allows them to sway the opinions of their users. Studies found Meta’s pushing of hate speech to drive up interactions contributed to genocide in Myanmar. X, formerly Twitter, pushed non-consensual AI stripping of girls and even children on users. Go on YouTube or TikTok and show the slightest rightward lean and you’ll find the algorithm “red pilling” you, pushing far-right and hate content on you. U.S. representatives claimed this is why they wanted to ban TikTok, because China shouldn’t have that power over U.S. citizens, only American corporations can algorithmically propagandize Americans. A better solution would be to ban or regulate algorithmic feeds, but politicians use those to push their own agendas, and that may happen with TikTok now as a Trump ally takes a large stake in the American TikTok platform. After all, a Trump ally took over CBS and they killed a story about one of America’s concentration camps. So, instead, TikTok is the boogeyman, and the company was forced to sell to U.S. buyers. Chief among them was Larry Ellison’s Oracle. Ellison is a close ally of Trump, and his family was also involved in the aforementioned buyout of CBS. His son, David Ellison, now runs the network.

TikTok collects more data on you than just about any other social network. Personal information, location, and more. A new popup shows that it may collect location data through estimation, even when you have location permissions off. They’ll also collect data on your citizenship, immigration status, gender, status as a transgender or non-binary person, mental health, race, and so much more. At a time of ICE raids and now all-too-frequent shootings of innocent protestors, that data could be dangerous in the hands of our government. While Trump doesn’t own TikTok, a key influencer of the platform is a close friend of Trump, and the fear of many is that any data in TikTok may not be safe.

Trump’s ICE is reportedly collecting information on everyone from possible immigrants to citizens who film them. At a time of concentration camps, ICE killing people in broad daylight, the government pushing for restrictions on trans rights and safety, and rampant racism and racial profiling, this sensitive data shouldn’t be in the hands of anyone who could use it against you. A close Trump ally could hand it over.

It’s time to delete TikTok before the regime uses it to come for you.

Bad Privacy Potentially Made Much Worse

TikTok has always been one of the worst social networks for privacy. The app sent more data to third party trackers and unknown locations than any other social media app. Yes, it’s even worse than Meta/Facebook. However, it’s not exactly a fair comparison. After all, Meta collects your data from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and any other Meta services you use, such as their AR glasses and virtual reality goggles. However, the information TikTok gathered was detailed and colossal. The app has the ability to not only tag your activity, but figure out who you are to serve up addictive videos and target you with ads.

However, in the hands of the United States government, who currently labels just about anyone who doesn’t worship at the feet of Trump as an “antifa terrorist,” it could be downright dangerous. We already know ICE may be collecting data on American citizens who oppose the regime, and we have arrested U.S. citizens for protesting already. The government has tried to deport people over their political beliefs alone, and Trump is looking to undermine birthright citizenship and due process. All of this means that the data Trump’s allies, like those who bought TikTok, such as Larry Ellison of Oracle, can be used for nefarious purposes, including potentially imprisonment if given over to the administration.

Having TikTok now is more dangerous than ever. That data could end up in the hands of a regime that hates dissenters, and most Americans fall into that category now.

New Terms of Service Track Everything About You, As Usual

The “new” TikTok terms of service that, unless you use the workaround I describe below, you must agree to when opening the app, details some of the data that the app will be capable of collecting. According to the app, this includes: “racial or ethnic origin, national origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status or financial information.” Of course an app owned by a Trump ally would focus on race, gender, and immigration status. The focus on mental health is also worrying.

However, this was all data that TikTok already had access to. This is the stuff privacy advocates have been telling you about for years, begging you to delete this ridiculous spyware app. TikTok’s previous privacy policy also allowed it to collect sensitive data. The California Consumer Privacy Act and California Invasion of Privacy Act force companies to reveal if they collect sensitive data. The change in ownership prompted the new alert, with people seeing the data TikTok has had access to for the first time. However, because of the app’s possible friendliness with the Trump administration, people are worried the government will have access to this data.

The Trump administration is reportedly using data as a weapon against the country’s own people, collecting information on protestors and labeling anyone who disagrees with them as a terrorist. Any data collection by a Trump ally could end up with Trump.

Show too much sympathy towards immigrants, either because of your own race or immigration status or because you have a soul, and you could be flagged in a database. Meanwhile, Trump has become obsessed with tracking down, outing, and restricting the rights and healthcare of transgender people. The TikTok algorithm can figure out if you’re likely to be trans, adding you to a database that could easily make its way to the Trump administration. The same goes for political beliefs like everyone deserves their constitutional right to a fair and just trial, or that government entities should not be able to kill people without repercussions. You might be against racial profiling or concentration camps, for obvious reasons. Or maybe you just don’t agree with genocide. All of that could make you an enemy of the Trump regime, and that information will be in the hands of a close Trump ally. From there, it could end up in Trump’s disgusting little pussy grabbing hands.

Deleting Your TikTok Account Without Agreeing to the New Terms of Service

There are two ways you can delete your TikTok account without agreeing to the new terms of service. If you have access to a computer, the easiest way to do this is via TikTok’s website. You can log in and delete your account via the website without agreeing to the new terms of service. However, you will see a banner, you can just ignore it for now.

The issue is how most people access TikTok: their phones. Here, the alert gives you no option to dismiss the popup or go to the website to read the full privacy policy and make a decision later. However, you can get past it.

  1. Force quit/close the app. You’ll want to load it in a clean state
  2. Put your phone in airplane mode
  3. Open the TikTok app (for the last time!)
  4. Go to your settings
  5. Turn on airplane mode
  6. Delete your account
  7. Close the app and delete that too

The truth is, this was always going to be a problem. Someone with such a close relationship to Trump and the increasingly violent regime probably cannot be trusted with the kind of data TikTok collects. But no one can be trusted with the kind of data TikTok collects. A Trump ally is particularly dangerous, but anyone collecting this kind of data shouldn’t be trusted.

Personally, I think everyone needs to give Mastodon another chance. Or, you know, just go outside. It’s a bit cold right now for most Americans, but, you know, when it’s warmer. Go outside. Go to a show. Check out a book. Find a new hobby. Touch grass. Or join in on America’s most important new pastime: attend a protest.

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