Investigation reveals Tiktok collecting data of non-Tiktok users as well through web: Here's all you need to know

Tiktok: American nonprofit consumer organisation, Consumer Reports has revealed that the famous short-form video hosting service Tiktok is collecting people’s data which is then used for target advertising. 

According to Consumer Reports (CR) investigation, TikTok is partnering with a growing number of other companies to hoover up data about people as they travel across the internet. This includes people who don’t have TikTok accounts.

CR with the help of security firm Disconnect scanned about 20,000 websites for the company’s ‘pixels’, tiny TikTok trackers embedded in the websites. The investigation showed that hundreds of organisations were sharing data with Tiktok. 

What data is shared?
Data being transmitted to TikTok can include your IP address, a unique ID number, what page you’re on, and what you’re clicking, typing, or searching for, depending on how the website has been set up.

What is the data used for?
Website developers choose to use trackers from Google, Meta, TikTok, and other companies to facilitate their own digital advertising, analyse traffic, and perform other services. Pixels and other trackers (like online cookies) can be particularly useful for advertising. 

Who else collects data?
Almost every website visited today collects information about what the user is doing and sends it off into the tech industry’s data analysing machinery, where it is used for online advertising. For years, Google and Facebook (now known as Meta) have dominated that advertising business and conducted a lot of the data gathering. 

How to protect data?
Use privacy-protecting browser extensions. 
One can add extensions to the browser that will do a lot to protect privacy. A browser extension is a small software module for customising a web browser.

Change your browser’s privacy settings. 
A lot of browsers have built-in controls one can use to block trackers, including cookies, pixels, and other technologies. Open browser’s preferences or settings, and one can usually find the controls in the privacy section. 

Try a more private browser. 
Google Chrome collects a lot of data on behalf of Google. Firefox and Brave are more privacy-focused options.