Tiktok shares more user data than any other major social media platform

Question

A recently conducted study compared data collection among different social media apps. During the study, it was found that Tiktok and Youtube generally track user data more than any other platform. Youtube is known to collect your search history and even your location to feed you more ‘relevant’ media, while Tiktok allows third-party trackers to access your data. The worry surrounding third-party trackers is the fact that it’s almost impossible to know who has access to your data, and what information they are collecting. The study was conducted by counting how many different domains tracked different users' activity across platforms. Youtube and Tiktok averaged 14 trackings while other apps averaged around 6. Now, while the majority of Youtube's trackers were first party networks (generally deemed safe), 13 out of 14 trackers on Tiktok were third party, which as I explained, is much more concerning.  

Answer 1

The claim that Tiktok shares more user data than any other major social media platform is partially correct, as the statement embellishes the truth of the claim. While it is a fact that Tiktok collects our data and distributes its content with data tracking systems there were no additional credible sources that definitively confirmed Tiktok sharing more data as opposed to other social media platforms. The basis of many sources' claims was concerning only third party tracking as a measure of data being distributed, which was not including other media platforms that use data tracking within their own systems. This means the claim is based on a limited metric and does not account for other major companies, such as Meta or Google, which also track significant user information within their own ecosystems.The claim is embellishing the truth that while tik tok does share user information, it does not stand out from its media counterparts who are also taking part in digital distributions. 

Sources:

https://pirg.org/articles/demystifying-tiktok-data

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html

https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/privacy/tiktok-tracks-you-across-the-web-even-if-you-dont-use-app-a4383537813