The video-sharing service TikTok (a Communist Chinese company) revised its U.S. privacy policy in the U.S., "allowing" them to collect biometric information such as faceprints and voiceprints from user content.
Per the new policy:
“We may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information as defined under U.S. laws, such as faceprints and voiceprints, from your User Content. Where required by law, we will seek any required permissions from you prior to any such collection,” (the Chinese company) ByteDance-owned company said in a newly introduced section called Image and Audio Information. The company may collect information about “the nature of the audio, and the text of the words spoken in your User Content” so as to “enable special video effects, for content moderation, for demographic classification, for content and ad recommendations, and for other non-personally-identifying operations.”Our first note is that "may collect" really means "will collect".
Given that TikTok originated in communist China, who is already using social media to control people, should give you some pause.
biometric security - Be very careful with your biometrics. Unlike a password that you can easily change if compromised, the same is absolutely not true with biometrics. If they get your voiceprint, fingerprint, (or soon) retinal eye scan … they have it for-ev-er.
Even if the company (or spy agency) getting your biometrics today is on the up-and-up; that does not help you if that company gets hacked and your biometrics find their way to the dark web ... forever. Or if the country behind the spy agency dramatically shifts their "goals" somewhere down the line and decides that you are now a target... You might want to hand over your biometrics very grudgingly; and tape over that fingerprint scanner on your laptop and phone.
This is not the first problem with TikTok.
They have been caught:
Deleting information,
censorship (like protecting UGHYAR organ harvesting),
and they ALREADY collect data like this: “In its privacy policy, TikTok lists that it collects usage information, IP addresses, a user's mobile carrier, unique device identifiers, keystroke patterns, and location data, among other data. Web developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk said that allowing videos and other content being shared by the app's users through HTTP puts the users' data privacy at risk.”
KEYSTROKE PATTERNS!
Isn't a password, a pattern?
Our recommendation: Drop TikTok