A new security feature in iOS 14 has surprised TikTok by spying on millions of its users.
The popular social media platform was caught red-handed copying text from a user’s clipboard every few seconds, effectively recording their keystrokes without their knowledge.
Although this was previously done in secret, beta users of Apple’s new iPhone software receive notifications when an app collects user data, and are constantly blocked from typing on TikTok.
Jeremy Burge, head of the online emoji directory Emojipedia, shared a video of the looming data in action, at first attributing it to the error detection feature.
In a statement to the Telegraph, which first reported the news, a TikTok spokesperson said what users were seeing was actually “a feature designed to identify repetitive and unwanted behavior”, not an intentional invasion of privacy.
“We have already sent an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the antispam feature to eliminate any possible confusion,” said the spokesperson. “TikTok is committed to protecting user privacy and being transparent about how our application works.”
TikTok had pledged in March to stop snooping on his keystroke in “a few weeks,” according to the Telegraph.
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