What the Tech: TikTok and privacy

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - There’s a huge movement in Washington, D.C. to ban TikTok in the United States unless Chinese investors sell to an American company.

Lawmakers cite privacy concerns as the number one reason the app should be banned in the U.S.

If you’re already concerned the Chinese government could be tracking users, you can take your privacy into your own hands.

Like all social media apps, TikTok clearly collects and shares a lot of your information when you download the app. If you’ve gone into the TikTok settings hoping to change what it can do with your information, you need to take a few other steps.

TikTok’s settings give you limited control of data sharing. It only allows you to make your account private, block accounts, and a few other settings that do nothing to protect your data.

Instead, go into your phone’s settings and scroll to the bottom of the page until you see the TikTok app. On an Android phone, it’s under settings, apps, and all apps. Chances are, you’ve given TikTok total access to your phone that includes your contacts, camera, microphone, calendar, and location.

If you’re like most people who view TikTok but never upload your own videos, turn all of these off. Leave Cellular Data turned on or it won’t work unless it’s connected to Wi-Fi. Make sure “allow tracking” is turned off. Otherwise, it’ll see and can share websites you visit and things you search for. It may not be enough to satisfy lawmakers who want it banned, but changing these settings should prevent TikTok from gathering your data.

Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning.

Copyright 2023 WILX. All rights reserved.