TikTok’s new U.S. joint venture is changing its privacy policy to allow for the collection of precise location data from its 200 million American users, a shift that’s raising eyebrows given past security concerns.
The updated policy went live Thursday, following the finalization of a deal between investors and TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to operate the popular short-form video app within the United states.
According to the new terms, TikTok may now collect “precise location data, depending on your settings,” a change from the previous policy which only permitted the gathering of “approximate” location information.
TikTok did not promptly respond to a request for comment regarding the change.
The policy states that any sensitive personal information will be processed “in accordance with applicable law,” and users retain the ability to disable location services through their device settings.
Even prior to the new venture,TikTok collected location data based on a user’s SIM card or IP address. However, a 2024 version of its privacy policy indicated the app didn’t collect even approximate GPS information from American users running the most current version.
While precise location sharing isn’t currently active in the U.S., it’s expected to be optional, requiring users to opt-in via a pop-up message. TikTok has not yet announced when this update will be rolled out to American users.
TikTok already gathers similar location data from users in the United Kingdom and Europe as part of its “Nearby Feed” feature, which helps users discover local events and businesses.
The new American TikTok joint venture is also broadening its permissions to collect information about user interactions with TikTok’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools. This includes user prompts, questions, and details about when and where AI-generated content is created.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is backed by three managing investors: cloud computing giant Oracle, and private equity firms Susquehanna International Group and General atlantic.
Is TikTok collecting my location data? TikTok’s new privacy policy allows for the collection of precise location data, but it will be optional and turned off by default, requiring users to actively opt-in.
- TikTok’s U.S. joint venture has updated its privacy policy to allow for precise location data collection.
- The change comes after a deal to operate tiktok in the U.S. independently from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
- Concerns remain about ByteDance’s minority stake and potential influence over the platform’s algorithm.
- Oracle will oversee data security and algorithm retraining within a U.S. cloud surroundings.
“These are questions that need to be answered as the Select Commitee does oversight of this deal.”
