Among all the cool hidden iOS 14 features, Apple also added a neat privacy feature that sends a notification whenever an app accesses your clipboard. Following the privacy concerns of iOS users, TikTok has said it will make changes in the app to stop this action.
In a statement to The Telegraph, a TikTok spokesperson claims that the app was accessing clipboard to identify spammy behavior. The company, however, says it has removed the feature in the latest version.
“For TikTok, this was triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive, spammy behavior. We have already submitted an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the anti-spam feature to eliminate any potential confusion,” a TikTok spokesperson told Telegraph.
TikTok didn’t reveal if the app ever sent clipboard data to its servers. The company also didn’t clarify the situation of this feature on Android devices. However, if you’re a TikTok user with an iPhone, you should consider updating the app to the latest version when it rolls out on the App Store.
In case you’re out of the loop, iOS developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk discovered this situation earlier this March. The developers noticed how several apps were able to access the clipboard without the explicit consent of users.
While TikTok says to have fixed the issue, we haven’t heard from other app makers accessing the clipboard just yet. Other popular iOS apps reading clipboard include New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Weibo, 8 Ball Pool, Call of Duty, and PUBG Mobile, to name a few.
That said, we could expect mainstream iOS apps to follow TikTok’s suit and remove such intrusive clipboard access, all thanks to Apple’s enhanced privacy features introduced with iOS 14.
