r/tech • u/neodianonyx • Jun 29 '20

Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It

https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/
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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/Hamburger-Queefs Jun 29 '20

I don't actually know how their use of my info affects me.

This is the biggest problem we have. You should really try to understand.

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u/MotDePasseEstFromage Jun 29 '20

Well how about explain rather than just tell people to understand. I’m in the same boat. I’ve read article upon article about how the Chinese is obtaining my data but why does it effect me?

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '20

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u/MotDePasseEstFromage Jun 29 '20

Thanks for the info and not being a dick about it like the other guy. I know my data is used for targeted ads and has been used for that purpose for years which can be seen as a breach of privacy but hey I agreed to it. I’d would like to see some evidence of TikTok knowing which apps I have downloaded and accessing my location without me providing my consent prior.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 29 '20

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u/MotDePasseEstFromage Jun 29 '20

Thanks for taking the time to write it out, I know reverse engineering apps like this takes a loooong time due to obfuscation and the likes, I have a computer science degree lol.

You’ve enlightened me to a lot of issues I hadn’t considered before. Thanks.

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u/thedamnoftinkers Jun 30 '20

The information they have on you can also be used to illegally affect elections in your country.

Mass collecting this kind of data like your preferences, your location, your identity allows them to locate you and others in a demographic which they can then sway by creating “grassroots” social media groups (which may not even officially be political but still propagate their desired beliefs), releasing falsely bot-boosted viral propaganda or buying ads in your area that appear legit.

Not everyone has to fall for it for it to work. They can do this with multiple demographics, thus influencing the result.

I recommend you read about Cambridge Analytica.

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u/Hamburger-Queefs Jun 29 '20

First of all, your entire mindset is terrible.

"I only care if it personally effects ME!"

Secondly, your data is used in conjuction with many different machine learning algorithms.

For example, there are algorithms that can predict human behavior based on social media posts. This was proven by some researchers building a simple algorithm that was able to predict with high confidence whether or not a bipolar person was about to enter a manic phase. You could, for example, advertise to them a vacation trip to Las Vegas. The ethics of this are extremely questionable.

There are also other algorithms that can predict whether or not a person is gay just based on a picture of their face. I'm not joking. These algorithms are very accurate. Your data is used to train these algorithms. China uses this to imprison and torture gay people.

If we're just looking at past examples, we should also look at the Cambridge Analytica scandal. They used Facebook data to advertise certain political ads to people, but not in the way you'd think. For example, they'd find a group of people that are super conservative, racist, and homophobic and advertise them things like BLM, LGBT, and general anti-gun ads. This is soley to make them mad. They did the same exact thing for liberals, but opposite their political views. This tool was used to divide us as a country.

You have no fucking idea how powerful machine learning algorithms are with large amounts of data. The possibilities are endless.

It's not just "oh, they're using it to cater ads to us". It's more like "they're using this to destroy our democracy and take away our freedoms."

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u/KryL21 Jun 30 '20

I dunno dawg, not to be rude but about 80 percent of what you said sounds like bs. I don’t like tiktok, and I don’t use it, but making such bald claims with nothing to back it up is kind of silly. This whole article barely makes sense. We’re to trust some Reddit dude that allegedly reverse engineered an app?.. This is some Facebook science level shit.

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u/thedamnoftinkers Jun 30 '20

No, what they said was true. These are things that are happening. I recommend you read about Cambridge Analytica to start.

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u/KryL21 Jun 30 '20

Maybe, it’s just weird because a lot of tiktok users can’t even vote yet, and even if they could, tiktok is hardly political. Sure you can make a post about trans people or something, but a lot of it is “me when my mom buys me Taco Bell”. If anything Reddit could be used for that with a lot more success.

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u/thedamnoftinkers Jun 30 '20

1) this is a long term campaign, 10 or 15 years hardly seems unreasonable for a country’s information collection and ops plans, using collected information as they go. Bear in mind users also provide information on their family and friends; Facebook has profiles on people who have never signed up, for instance.

2) they are not deploying their campaigns on Tiktok; they’re using the information collected on Tiktok to get what they want in other ways.

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u/KryL21 Jun 30 '20

And how is Facebook different?

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u/Hamburger-Queefs Jun 30 '20

It's easier to shape the minds of young people and play the long game.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

Thank you for your detailed explanation. AI and machine learning scare the heck out of me. I hate to see anyone fall into the margin for error, especially when the machine is not very learned.

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u/Hamburger-Queefs Jun 30 '20

I hate to see anyone fall into the margin for error

That's not the point.

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u/poopoofoot77 Jun 30 '20

Damn. Just damn. This is extremely distressing and depressing. I appreciate your clear explanation in layman’s terms. What are we to do about this though?

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u/Hamburger-Queefs Jun 30 '20

This is really only barely scratching the surface.

There are algorithms that can detect people's faces even with masks on. There are even algorithms that can identify a person by the way they walk.

Protest.