TikTok’s New Data Collection: Discover the 3 Key Changes Users Should Know

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TikTok is updating its data collection practices, including precise location tracking and AI interaction logging. Here are the key changes.

TikTok’s New Data Collection: Discover the 3 Key Changes Users Should Know

New York: Today, TikTok users in the US saw a pop-up. It asked them to agree to new rules about privacy before scrolling. This is part of a change in whom TikTok is owned by. The US government made TikTok move from Chinese control to a new company called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. This new group includes investors like Oracle.

Clicking Agree is easy, but many users might not know how much information they are allowing TikTok to collect. Now that TikTok is under new ownership, it might gather more detailed data about users, including their exact location. A spokesperson for TikTok USDS didn’t provide any comments about this change.

Also Read: TikTok Services Restored After Outage Caused by Oracle Data Center Problem

Here are the three main updates to TikTok’s privacy policy that users should pay attention to.

TikTok Adds Precise Location Tracking
One big change is how TikTok tracks location. The app previously collected only general location info. Now, if users allow location services, TikTok can track where they are very precisely. This is similar to what apps like Instagram and X do.

Old Privacy Policy:
TikTok used to gather only approximate location data and did not track GPS details for US users.

Also Read: Another Forbes 30 Under 30 Member Faces Federal Fraud Charges

New Privacy Policy:
Now, TikTok can gather detailed location info if you allow it on your phone.

TikTok Now Tracks AI Interactions
This update adds to how TikTok uses AI. The new rules say that any chats or prompts users have with TikTok’s AI tools will be recorded. It includes the questions users ask and the answers they receive.

Old Privacy Policy:
Before this, AI interactions were not mentioned in TikTok’s rules.

New Privacy Policy:
It now notes that when using the app, users’ AI interactions, such as prompts and questions, can be collected and stored.

TikTok Expands Its Ads Network
This change might not be obvious right away, but it affects the ads users will see. TikTok will use data to show users more relevant ads, even when not using the app. TikTok has also said they work with publishers for more data.

Old Privacy Policy:
The previous rules did not talk about using collected data for advertising beyond the app itself.

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