Apple has reinforced its commitment to privacy with iOS 14, which includes new features to give users more control over the data that each application has access to. One of these features is a new banner alert that lets users know if an app is pasting from the clipboard, and this is already exposing the behavior of some popular apps.
According to various reports shared on the web after the launch of iOS 14 beta, TikTok is one of the apps that constantly reads users’ clipboards. The new privacy banner keeps popping up on the screen all the time when the app is running, and this has not only bothered beta users, but they are also concerned that TikTok will copy personal data without permission.
TikTok said Telegraph The application is not collecting data from the clipboard. Instead, the application has a custom system to identify repetitive spam behavior. The company alleges that this feature is activating the new iOS 14 privacy banner, and for that reason, TikTok will no longer automatically access the user’s clipboards with a future app update.
For TikTok, this was triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive and unwanted behavior. We have already sent an updated version of the application to the App Store eliminating the antispam function to eliminate any possible confusion. TikTok is committed to protecting the privacy of users and being transparent about how our application works.
According to the Telegraph report, there are other apps constantly checking the iOS clipboard, including AccuWeather, Overstock, AliExpress, Call of Duty Mobile, Patreon, and Google News. We don’t know the exact reason for each app to read what users copied from other apps, but the TikTok decision shows that Apple is right to implement more privacy tools.
Hello @tiktok_us, why do you paste from my clipboard every time I write a LETTER in your comment box? Thanks to iOS 14 for lighting up this huge invasion of privacy. inb4 say it was an “error” pic.twitter.com/MHv10PmzZS
– Maxel (@MaxelAmador) June 25, 2020
Have you noticed any other apps that try to access the clipboard all the time with iOS 14? Let us know in the comments below.
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