Meta and TikTok can track everything you type on in-app browsers: researcherBy Theo Wayt
August 19, 2022
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok’s iPhone apps are capable of tracking everything users type in their in-app internet browsers, according to warnings from a security researcher.
All three popular social media apps say they don’t track sensitive user data like credit card information, passwords and addresses that is entered through in-app browsers — but it would be extremely easy for them to do so if they wanted to, researcher and developer Felix Krause wrote this week.
For example, imagine an Instagram user’s friend sent them a direct message with a link to a product for sale.
If the Instagram user clicks on the link using their iPhone, it will open within the in-app browser rather than redirecting to Safari. If the user then decides they want to purchase the product, they will have to enter their credit card information, shipping address and other details — all of which can be tracked by Instagram, according to Krause. The same process would occur if they were buying a product from an Instagram advertisement.
The new research comes as regulators have raised privacy and security concerns about Chinese-owned TikTok.
In June, Federal Communications Commission commissioner Brendan Carr called on Apple and Google to remove the app from their app stores, calling the app a “sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.”
“TikTok collects everything from search and browsing histories to keystroke patterns and biometric identifiers, including faceprints… and voiceprints,” Carr wrote in an open letter.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/08/19/meta-and-tiktok-can-track-everything-you-type-on-in-app-browsers-researcher/
