Hey everyone,
I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting opinions about TikTok and how it handles user data. Some people say it’s no worse than apps like Instagram or Facebook, while others are convinced it's a serious privacy risk — mostly because of its ties to China and the kind of access it asks for.

I’m not here to spread paranoia or defend any app — I’m just genuinely curious. Has anyone here looked into how TikTok actually works behind the scenes? Like, from a data/privacy standpoint — are there specific permissions or patterns that stood out to you? Is it really doing anything different compared to the usual suspects like Meta or Google?

Would love to hear what you all think, especially if you've tested it yourself or have any insights on app behavior, data flow, or background activity.