I want to see what TikTok is about but also want to retain some privacy. If its on F-droid, playstore or as a APK I don’t mind.
If this was Reddit you would be blasted with CIA propaganda and hinted to prefer Instagram and Twitter.
While I may not have provided the answer to your question, I would like to supplement the privacy part of it aptly, because I am tired of the unspoken Western Big Tech apologia. TikTok OBJECTIVELY collects far lesser data than Big Tech apps and services, according to reports from 2 reputed data collection analysis companies. Moreover, the below assumes you have an account, which is not even needed to use TikTok, unlike Instagram or Snapchat.
https://clario.co/blog/which-company-uses-most-data/ https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/insights/info-tech-companies-collecting-from-you
One of the key important aspects of threat modelling for your desired privacy is the acceptance of facts instead of false nationalist opinions.
Though I am with you in hating Western Big Tech apologia, I don’t agree with this point overall. Even the sources you linked show that TikTok collects an ungodly amount of data on its users. The Clario study shows that it’s in 6th place… is being lower than Facebook and Instagram supposed to be an accomplishment? And it’s much higher than Twitter and Zoom, which is definitely not a good thing.
I do not think you understand how TikTok is treated compared to Facebook and the likes amongst biased Westerners. Hell even in India here, it is banned for no reason other than political posturing. For some reason, TikTok activates Sinophobia, but discussion about Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat (which collect incomparably more data and latter 2 unusable from browser) is good manners.
Go search “TikTok” on r/privacy and observe comments on every single post there. Then, compare my above comment to all of those. Then, read the below stuff. Then tell me if you notice something.
From a very, very old comment I made once on reddit:
The sentiment of a lot of Westerners across reddit is like this, and I strictly feel that this is very unfair, because Western companies do not get the same treatment and bashing. Primarily because 70% of reddit is used by US, Canada, UK and West Europe. I also observe Sinophobic comments in general, plenty of which I have avoided on this very post of mine to not ruin my credibility as someone who is helping a lot of people, giving a lot of people hope for attaining privacy.
I am from India, so being accused of being a pro-China Chinese citizen does not work. It is all rational thinking. I have been trapped myself in the heat of discussions plenty times, but that has helped me mature thankfully.
Why do I think sentiment is Sinophobic? Because political and partisan arguments start to be used instantly on any post that even mentions any Chinese technology company in good or bad light or even no light, and then it becomes whataboutism, and then inception of whataboutism, strawman arguments, logical fallacies, bashing, flaming, trolling, baiting… you know the drill. And that becomes a mess, most of what reddit sadly is.
We need to learn to be rational and not have nationalistic prejudices when talking about technology, because when one cites Chinese surveillance law, they also need to cite US Cloud Act and Patriot Act that do the exact same thing for ages. Most countries are doing the same thing, and we need to objectively analyse every piece of technology when sensitive topic like privacy (virtual or real) is discussed, instead of baiting and citing wrong sources to prove oneself right.
I think the difference is that ultimately China (the government, not it’s people) is an enemy of the “wester alliance” - “the west”, if you will. You can work, and even cooperate, with an enemy to a degree, but you don’t let them into your house. It’s pretty basic at it’s core. TikTok is from a simplistic POV, is at the whims of the Chinese government - much like Facebook/Insta/Snap are to the US government although to a much lesser extent. We don’t worry about FB/Insta/Snap because they operate within the “western” jurisdiction and are “trusted” within their domain.
Being rational also requires you take real-life risks into consideration. This would be like saying “why don’t you treat your friends the same way you treat the local crackhead when he walks through your store? He’s just there to buy essentials” - yes, he may be there to actually buy things, but he’s much more likely to do something nefarious than your known friends.
I think the difference is that ultimately China (the government, not it’s people) is an enemy of the “wester alliance” - “the west”, if you will.
95% Chinese people approve of their government, according to a Harvard study conducted over 16 (or 20?) years and statistical sampling of over 30k people (which accounts for over a billion people easily). China’s people very much view and understand the Western imperialist atrocities, and do not want to see a third Opium War again. They are already viewing their public demonisation caused during COVID by Trump and rightwingers, and viewing the crap Western propaganda media apparatus throws at them by faking Xinjiang anti terrorism measures as a genocide (that does not exist).
We don’t worry about FB/Insta/Snap because they operate within the “western” jurisdiction and are “trusted” within their domain.
They do not work under any trusted domain, and people use them while being data raped due to network effect. I need WhatsApp due to the same reason, and have it sandboxed.
Being rational also requires you take real-life risks into consideration.
I would love to know when China bombed people using metadata gathered using phones and computers, because one thing I am certain about, is that USA has done it multiple times (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-project-maven-drone-warfare-artificial-intelligence), and former CIA director Hayden proudly said “we kill people based on metadata”. If anything, China has never genocided, neither on its territory, nor on foreign territory.
USA and Anglosphere, however, has done multiple genocides and foreign interventions in the past 5+ centuries, essentially modern history, and has plenty overreach across the world with its 800+ basecamps around the world, not to mention the 14 Eyes + Japan + Israel surveillance network with Big Tech and the propaganda news media apparatus of USAGM + CFR + Bilderberg + Murdoch outlets.
So, what are these real life risks that China, out of my jurisdiction, out of concern, with no warmongering and imperialist interests, has on me? Or for that matter, on anyone?
