It seems that TikTok wasn’t as responsible for its users’ privacy as a new report claims that it was secretly collecting its users’ data, as well as bypassing Android’s built-in protections.

A new report from The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the TikTok app was tracking its users’ Mac addresses up to November of 2019. This comes in a bad moment for the social media app, which is reportedly suing Trump’s administration over the executive order that threatens to ban its service. TikTok may have been using a hidden layer of encryption that would violate Google’s app policies, and it would only help the US to complete a possible ban on the app.

Let’s remember that the app will be banned if a US company does not acquire it before September 15, and at the moment, Microsoft and Twitter are the only ones who have shown a possible interest.

A spokesperson for TikTok said that the company was “committed to protecting the privacy and safety of the TikTok community. Like our peers, we constantly update our app to keep up with evolving security challenges.” And he also said that “the current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses.”

Source Android Central

Via The Wall Street Journal