TikTok tracked UK journalist via her cat's account

martinbayer said:
And a cat (or a human, for that matter) needs a TikTok account because why?
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I guess because it was the journalist's private TikTok account.
Cristina's TikTok account was on her personal mobile handset - and in the name of her cat, Buffy. Her own name and occupation were not mentioned in the bio.
[...]
TikTok has confirmed members of its internal audit department looked at the location of Cristina's IP address - the unique number of a device - and compared it with the IP data of an unknown number of their own staff, to try to establish who was secretly meeting with the press. They "misused their authority" to do this and were acting unauthorised.
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Account Buffy was tied by IP data to the journalist's work account Cristina, TikTok's internal auditors were caught with their pants down, while at the same time TikTok's owner Bytedance was arguing it took privacy really, really seriously.
Like most social-media networks, TikTok collects quite a lot of information about its account holders, including:
  • location data
  • "likes"
  • the device being used
  • online activity outside of the platform itself
Western users' data is never accessed or stored inside China, it says. And the staff responsible for the data breach of Cristina and a handful of other Western journalists, last year, were fired for misconduct.

TikTok owner Bytedance said it "deeply regrets" what was "significant violation" of its code of conduct and was "committed to ensuring this never happens again".
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In an entirely separate development, Bytedance is heavily investing in its new bridge-selling department.
 
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I read about that TikTok tracking incident involving the UK journalist and her cat's account. It's quite concerning how platforms can gather and utilize so much information, even from seemingly innocuous sources like pet profiles. It underscores the importance of being cautious about what we share online and how it can be used. Regarding https://getlikes.com/ I've come across it before but never used it myself. From what I've heard, services like that can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can potentially boost your posts and give you more exposure, which can help grow your account or brand. On the other hand, there are concerns about privacy, authenticity of engagement, and whether it's truly worth the investment. I think it ultimately depends on your goals and priorities. If you're looking to increase your reach quickly and are willing to take the risks associated with these services, it might be worth trying out.
 
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