TikTok's Android app domestic users' MAC addresses for 18 months in violation of the pulpit rules, as discovered by a Wall Street Laurel look-over on Tuesday. The addresses would have served as a unrelated identifier for holiday user's device, organizational them valued for both agitprop as well as potentially over-and-above invasive forms of tracking.
By 2015, both iOS's App Store as well as the Google Comedy Store had forbidden the drove of MAC addresses as a matter of policy, except TikTok was still achieved to onset the identifier through a loophole. A study cited by the Journal found that nevertheless 350 apps on the Google Comedy Store had taken advisability of a agnate loophole, often for ad-targeting purposes.
TikTok discontinued the practice in November of aftermost year, a shift in policy the Journal attributes to mounting political pressure from Washington.
The revelation comes at a gauzy time for TikTok, which is facing difficult questions from the White Lodge over its Chinese parentage company's matched of derive to US user data. Aftermost week, the White Lodge issued an controlling order to cut off all US wires with the company, engendering September 20th, if it is not achieved to accented a sale of its US operations by that time. The company is currently in talks with Microsoft, except it is cryptic how far the dovetail will proceed.
The Journal findings cut append the all-time atmospherics in TikTok's defense, that the system doesn't collect any over-and-above documents than a swinging rubbery app. While most often used for ad tracking, coronation MAC addresses is between the over-and-above invasive forms of the practice.
TikTok was not instanter close-by for comment.
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