TikTok privacy policy for US users was updated on Wednesday. App adds a new section stating that they “may collect biometric identifiers and information” from its users’ content. The policy further explains that the data collection includes “faceprints and voiceprints,”.
In the recently added section, “Image and Audio Information” the specifics for biometric data collection have been presented. As per the company statement:
We may collect information about the images and audio that are a part of your User Content, such as identifying the objects and scenery that appear, the existence and location within an image of the face and body features and attributes, the nature of the audio, and the text of the words spoken in your User Content. We may collect this information to enable special video effects, for content moderation, for demographic classification, for content and ad recommendations, and for other non-personally-identifying operations. We may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information as defined under US laws, such as faceprints and voiceprints, from your User Content. Where required by law, we will seek any required permissions from you prior to any such collection.
According to TechCrunch: The statement itself is vague, as it doesn’t specify whether it’s considering federal law, state laws, or both. It also doesn’t explain why TikTok needs this information. The phrases “faceprints” and “voiceprints” are not defined. It also doesn’t say how it plans to obtain the “necessary approvals” from users, or whether it would rely on state or federal regulations to lead the consent process.
The biometric information was revealed at a time when TikTok was attempting to win the confidence of some American users. It’s conceivable that TikTok’s privacy policies have changed in reaction to a recent national class-action lawsuit in which the business agreed to pay $92 million to plaintiffs alleging a range of privacy abuses.
Although some US government organizations and politicians have restricted personnel from using TikTok, most cybersecurity experts believe it presents no more security danger to normal Americans than any other social networking app. To build trust again, App needs to work more as they have suffered a lot in terms of privacy concerns.