Update February 2026: This article has been substantially updated to reflect the recent and partial sale of TikTok’s US operations to a group of mainly US investors.

TikTok is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, with more than a billion users worldwide. Its short-form video format and highly personalized recommendation algorithm have revolutionized how people discover content, creators, and news.

TikTok, however, has also been the subject of sustained global scrutiny. Regulators in multiple regions(nytt fönster) have raised concerns(nytt fönster) about data privacy, foreign influence, and the opacity of its content-ranking systems. In January 2026, TikTok’s US operations were restructured(nytt fönster) under a new ownership model following political pressure, but the platform continues to face allegations of algorithmic bias and censorship(nytt fönster).

So is TikTok safe to use? In this article, we look at how TikTok works, what data it collects, and what risks you should consider before using the app.

Don’t have time to read the full article? Our video answers the question in 58s.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media platform known for its short-form video content. Users can create, share, and discover videos ranging from a few seconds to several minutes in length. Launched internationally in 2017 by ByteDance, TikTok has rapidly become one of the world’s most popular apps, especially among younger audiences. It’s currently estimated to have over 1.7 billion users worldwide(nytt fönster).

Its algorithm is designed to personalize the user experience, offering a feed of videos curated to each user’s preferences, which has contributed significantly to the app’s addictive quality and global reach.

TikTok also includes a community aspect, where users can follow, like, comment on, and share videos from others, fostering a vibrant and interactive online community. The platform has been wildly influential, shaping internet culture, launching viral trends, and even propelling songs and artists to fame.

What are the security risks with TikTok?

Who owns TikTok?

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company headquartered in Beijing. In 2026, TikTok’s US operations were sold to a group of US investors(nytt fönster). This created a new US entity with a majority-American board, although ByteDance maintains a substantial (19.9%) minority ownership stake.

The deal was intended to address national security concerns about Chinese surveillance and manipulation. TikTok’s global operations outside the US, however, remain controlled by ByteDance, which therefore still likely maintains considerable corporate and geopolitical influence over the platform.

What are the security risks with TikTok?

Most concerns around TikTok focus on the fact that as a Chinese company, ByteDance is required to share any data deemed relevant to Chinese national security with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) upon request. 

These fears have been exacerbated by some frankly shocking admissions and accusations regarding the platform, which include:

TikTok spied on journalists

TikTok has admitted that it used its app to spy on reporters(nytt fönster) in an effort to track internal leaks. To achieve this, it improperly accessed their IP addresses and user data in an attempt to identify whether they had been in the same locales as ByteDance employees suspected of leaking information.

TikTok was used to spy on Hong Kong activists

A former senior ByteDance executive has accused TikTok of helping the CCP to spy on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.(nytt fönster) In a US court filing, Yintao Yu said that TikTok helped identify and monitor “protest-related content”, which it then handed over to the Chinese authorities. 

TikTok ran keylogging code in its app

A privacy researcher and former Google engineer claims that he found malicious code running inside TikTok’s in-app browser(nytt fönster) that could monitor keystrokes. This would allow TikTok to log users’ credit card details and other sensitive information inputted into the browser window. 

Other safety concerns about TikTok

Extensive tracking and corporate surveillance

TikTok is undoubtedly(nytt fönster) at least as invasive to your privacy as any other big social media platform, such as Facebook, X, or Instagram. This means it collects and shares a wealth of information about you, including:

TikTok has also been accused of particularly aggressive pixel tracking(nytt fönster), a form of fingerprinting(nytt fönster) that uses invisible code, to uniquely identify internet users and track their browsing histories even when they don’t themselves use TikTok. 

It uses the information it collects in the following ways:

  • To target you with ever more personalized ads
  • To share with its business partners (primarily so they can also target you with personalized ads)

Learn more about how TikTok abuses your privacy(nytt fönster)

In the United States, TikTok’s new privacy policy makes it clear it intends to expand its ad network(nytt fönster) to collect even more “information about you and the actions you have taken outside of our websites and apps, including the pages you visit, products or services you purchase, and apps you use”.

What’s particularly troubling here is strong evidence(nytt fönster) that ICE (the US federal law-enforcement agency that enforces immigration laws and carries out deportations) intends to monitor social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and X, to identify, track, and target people for deportation. And with an expanded ad network collecting ever highly invasive information, there is a danger of TikTok becoming a powerful tool for US government surveillance.

The dark truth behind TikTok’s new terms

Algorithmic influence

TikTok’s recommendation system(nytt fönster) is widely considered one of the most powerful content-discovery algorithms ever used in consumer technology. This makes it particularly influential in shaping public opinion, cultural trends, and political discourse.

Researchers and policymakers have warned that opaque ranking systems can amplify misinformation, divisive content, and narratives that further the political aims of the Chinese (and now also possibly the US) government. TikTok provides limited public transparency into how its algorithm prioritizes content compared to some other platforms.

Censorship

TikTok has faced allegations that certain political or sensitive topics are suppressed by its moderation systems. This includes the well-documented suppression of content sensitive to the CCP(nytt fönster) (such Hong Kong, Tibet, Uighurs, and Tienanmen), but also since its sale in the US, accusations that it has censored content sensitive to the US government(nytt fönster).

TikTok scams

TikTok users have been targeted with numerous scams. Some of the best-documented scams include:

But is TikTok really that unsafe?

Yes. TikTok undoubtedly collects far more information than it needs and has unclear data privacy protections from its host nation’s government. If you’re concerned about maintaining your privacy and minimizing how much personal information you expose, you should delete it immediately. If your security model involves trying to shield your information from the Chinese government, we advise you avoid TikTok entirely. 

Learn how to delete TikTok and clear your data

However, the same is also true of Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, and all of Google’s services. These services harvest a huge amount of personal data and, as Edward Snowden’s mass surveillance revelations(nytt fönster) exposed, share this with the US government. 

Even ignoring any possible influence the new TikTok deal may give the US government over the US side of its operations, it can issue national security letters (NSLs) that compel companies to turn over vast amounts of personal data and metadata without any judicial oversight. These are usually accompanied by a gag order that prevents the company from alerting their users that they’ve served with an NSL. 

The US government may also have shifted to simply buying US citizens’ internet data(nytt fönster) from commercial data brokers rather than relying on the direct cooperation of social media companies (although it still does this(nytt fönster)), but the underlying reality has hardly changed — the US government continues to spy on US citizens’ internet activities.

Learn more about why the US is not good for privacy 

However, as US and UK sanctions on China following accusations it sponsored a years-long cyber-attack campaign targeting politicians, journalists, and businesses(nytt fönster) clearly demonstrates, the threat from China is also very real. 

And as we’ve seen from the way in which TikTok can spy on journalists and activists, spread misinformation, and even potentially log its users’ keystrokes, concerns that the wildly popular social media platform is a potentially highly dangerous tool in Chinese hands are also justified. 

How to use TikTok (more) safely

There is no safe way to use TikTok. As the incident where TikTok spied on journalists’ IP addresses demonstrates, even having TikTok installed on your phone is a serious danger to your privacy and security. If you really care about being safe and private online, you should just delete TikTok.

This is especially true if you are a journalist, activist, politician, government official, or have access to any confidential information whatsoever. 

Is TikTok safe? Our verdict

No. TikTok abuses your privacy, has pushed extremist content, and may represent a serious national security risk to citizens of other countries. There is no safe way to use TikTok, and our strong recommendation is to delete the app from all your devices.

It’s true that much of the concern over TikTok comes from wider geopolitical concerns, rather than problems with the app itself. It’s also true that US-based social media giants such as Facebook and X also abuse your privacy in similar ways and share data (directly or indirectly) with the US government. 

For those outside the United States, there’s little doubt that many nations view China as a threat(nytt fönster) to their national security, and that TikTok could be a highly dangerous weapon in its cyber-arsenal. For those in the US, time will tell. But the signs are not encouraging.