What’s your take on TikTok and its effect on online privacy?

[evelyngrace]

Hi all,

I’ve seen a lot of debates around TikTok, especially about how it collects data and the way its algorithm shapes what people see. Since Mozilla has always pushed for an open and transparent web, I wanted to ask this community:

Do you think TikTok is raising new privacy challenges, or is it just another example of the same issues we already face with other social platforms?

Also, with the rise of variations like TikTok 18 and Youtube Premium mod like from ytmodz, which often operate outside of the main app ecosystem and may not follow the same data protection or security standards, do you think these unofficial versions increase the risks for users even more?

And do you see any role for browsers, extensions, or open-source projects in helping users deal with this?

Looking forward to hearing different viewpoints.

[evelyngrace]

Just to add a bit more context from my side — the reason I brought this up is because I notice a lot of people (especially younger users) don’t really think twice before downloading something like TikTok 18 or other modded versions. The official TikTok already raises plenty of privacy concerns, but these alternatives sometimes ask for extra permissions or come from sources that aren’t transparent at all.

What makes it trickier is that many of these versions are distributed through third-party app stores rather than the official Google Play or Apple App Store. Unlike the main app stores, which at least have some level of review, third-party stores often don’t apply the same security checks or privacy standards. That means users might be installing apps that could expose more of their personal data without them realizing it.

I’m curious if anyone here has seen any browser tools, privacy-focused extensions, or even community-driven projects that could help reduce some of these risks. Or do you think the responsibility falls more on platforms and app stores to clamp down on these unofficial versions?

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