What does TikTok know about you? Experts reveal how much data it collects & how to make profiles more secure

TikTok has fast become one of the most controversial apps on the internet. Last week, the UK announced the app would be banned on UK government phones due to privacy concerns from Chinese owners of the app, ByteDance. Additionally, the US is considering a ban on the app altogether unless ByteDance sells the company.

While all social media platforms collect information, experts say the risk with TikTok especially, is that it remains unclear what exactly happens to your data, where it’s stored, and with whom TikTok does or doesn’t share user data. When talking about the purpose of collecting information, the TikTok privacy policy merely includes statements such as “improving the user experience.”