this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025

341 points (99.7% liked)

Technology

78393 readers

4504 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related news or articles.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

L3s@lemmy.world

enu@lemmy.world

technopagan@lemmy.world

L4s@lemmy.world

L3s@hackingne.ws

L4s@hackingne.ws

341

TikTok allegedly monitoring users’ Grindr activity, digital rights group claims (www.thepinknews.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by TRAHR@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world

49 comments fedilink hide all child comments

all 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 61 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

People should stop using these ad and tracking apps disguised as some useful app.

[–] m33@lemmy.zip 47 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

TT is not a useful application, it’s a mental sickness virus. It leads to hate and self harm.

[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So is grindr. Most dehumanizing app ever, so manipulative and full of ads.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 35 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It does give you sex in return for data, which compared to most apps, is a better return ratio.

[–] dustyData@lemmy.world -2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's not sex in return for data, more like “you get sex, you lose confidence and any sense of self-worth, we will also show you ads every 3 seconds.”

[–] Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

9 times out of 10 that tap or message you just got came from a fucking bot. Grindr is such a shithole app.

[–] Aneb@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Do you want to see sexy men from your cumputer? Here's my secret link bit/PHGR

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca -1 points 2 weeks ago

Skill issue

[+] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -24 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

To be more honest:

Tiktok is actually very useful to find

very specific recipes
rare places to visit
specific tutorials
content in rare languages
insight from countries and cultures not found in regular media
some manifestation footage from the pov of the people
even some war/violent event footage before moderation and is better than Youtube, Reddit or a regular search engine for those.

However, it also has huge amounts of

misinformation
political propaganda
dumb people
pseudoscience
mass surveillance

and it's usage has negative effects on brain such as:

reduced attention span
distorted time perception
boredom intolerance

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

To be objectively honest, all the useful things you listed are and always have been available elsewhere in the internet.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

People have turned into idiots the past few years who cant even use the internet/computers properly. Because corporations brainwashed them.

[+] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -18 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Give me a search engine with as much easy to find specific content then ?

[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 20 points 2 weeks ago

I'd trust Askjeeves to give me more reliable information than TT

[–] Nugscree@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Google? Query, then click on the video's tab. Don't want to use Google? You can also use Duck duck go, startpage.com, or anything similar using the same steps.

[–] dzsimbo@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh, the horror. DDG is only better because it's not the big G, otherwise it returns the same nonesense search optimized slop. If your data is not important, russian site yandex gives different hits (def better for the high seas). There's also a paid websearch (forgot the name) that seems legit.

Internet is dead.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 weeks ago

The paid one is Kagi and search results are pretty good.

[+] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Stupid comment. Search "rare places to visit" on google and get ready for 10 pages of AI slop articles and those that are not AI are always the same copy pasted from each other. On tiktok locals will make their own list of prefered places and show them and how to go there.

[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Use before:yyyy/mm/dd and/or after:yyyy/mm/dd in the search box to specify date ranges, and search for results before 2020 to remove all the AI slop.

Much easier than giving away your data to a company known for spreading misinformation, pushing AI content and genuinely worsening social interactions online and in real life.

[–] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes very useful to search for places half a decade ago

[–] antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Places usually don't vanish into nonexistence after five years.

[–] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Local cafes and restaurants may be closed. Some places may be under construction or restoration. Some hidden places may have become ultra touristic. Some neighborhoods may have become dangerous

[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You know where you cand find out if a cafe or restaurant will be closed? A search provider with the words [cafe name] opening times. Shit mate, google maps has the opening times.

If you're seeing recommendations for a place on tiktok, it's already ultra touristic, and is in no way shape or form hidden.

And surely you're going to find accurate and up to date unbiased information about these 'dangerous neighbourhoods' from tiktok, you're surely not just going to be faced with a wall of thinly veiled racism on there at all.

You'd really let someone else do all your thinking for you, and then posting a video touting their opinions as facts.

[–] MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de 30 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

This is cope. TT feeds you the information you don't need or search for it. If you search you will find better sources for everything. It's just a big advertisement platform.

Also tf is manifestation footage?

[–] HailSeitan@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A manifestation (or “manif” for short) is the word for a (political) protest in some languages

[–] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ahh I thought it was in English too

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No, I interpreted it as a form of religious magical practice that's somewhat popular on social media

[–] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Lmao there are self-called witches no tiktok 😭

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah there are a lot of religions on most social media sites. Manifesting is interestingly increasingly popular with Christians.

[+] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

How tf is this cope I don't even use this shit. Just give me the better sources for everything then ? Because I know people who use it and they find things hard to find otherwise. Just because it's a shit social media doesn't mean you should lie about what it can do.

Manifestation footage is footage of a manifestation. Quite often people I know who use tiktok talk to me about things going on in other countries that are not talked about in public media

[–] MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't think its a good source for any of these, because its short videos. You don't actually look for information there, because searching for specific these specific videos is hard. If you want specific information you gotta read, because text-based info is searchable.

Recipes are on recipe websites, interesting places in local forums, same with rare languages. Tutorials are all over the internet.

Protest are definetly not on the Chinese run social media, unless China wants it to be amplified.

It's maybe good for memes.

[–] SlimePirate@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 2 weeks ago

Videos come with hashtags which are text and thus searchable, then the algorithm recommends similar videos or other with the same keywords that are related.

A lot of information is better in a visual format than text: tourism guides and art for example.

Sure but you must know the forums and they have way less user base than TT where you have all content with a single search engine.

Yes there are a lot, note that they have a different feed for chinese citizens where there are probably way less.

[–] itsathursday@lemmy.world 37 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I wish I could packet sniff or monitor what apps are doing what on my phone. If I install a calculator, I only want it to math some numbers, not harvest data from me.

Apple is supposed to mention this in the App Store but even then it’s just a tag on an app and there’s no more details.

[–] NotSteve_@piefed.ca 16 points 2 weeks ago

I know you're on iOS but for anyone else who's on Android, TrackerControl is a great easy to use app for this purpose

But for iOS OP, maybe AdGuard would help?

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Anytime you download an app, by default ir has permission to use your Cellular Data and WiFi and indexed by Siri. Best you can do is void all those and not give it any unnecessary permissions

If you have enough data (like 50+GB), try to keep WiFi off and use only cellular and disable the apps celllular oermission in the Cellular section in Settings

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

Doesn't DuckDuckGo offer a subscription service that monitors/blocks those requests?

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

You can. PersonalDNSfilter on f droid. Its great. And scary.

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca -3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You cant install anything on android without it asking you for permissions.

Stop using apple and you will have slightly more control.

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Here are the permissions used by a calculator app Android tells me has "No permissions granted".

You can't deny any of those.

[–] xep@discuss.online 22 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Don't use Tiktok. But also, don't use any social media run by large corporations. You deserve better than that.

[–] BanMe@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Also I really wish someone would start a non-profit driven dating/hookup app. Grindr is a perfect example of full enshittification, keeping users on the platform as long as possible, needing paid accounts to do anything at all. The world is in a loneliness crisis, we could be using this tech to actually fix it, instead the tech exacerbates the problem to get ad views.

[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

Alas, laws are coming into place where large, centralized, social media platforms will be the only ones able to operate within the law.

[–] bklyn@piefed.social 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yikes! Glad I never used TikTok

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The Internet is bad.

[–] bizzle@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Careful now, these people LOVE their digital heroin

[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

TikTok literally checking up your ass at this point

[–] BoycottTwitter@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Soon this data will be collected by far-right oligarchs like Larry Ellison through Oracle. We really need a huge push to urge everyone to stop using TikTok.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Soon this data will be collected by far-right oligarchs like Larry Ellison through Oracle.

And maybe the Chinese and Russian governments, too, paying top dollar through a bunch of cutouts.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

In this day and age with greedy billionaires everywhere doing a bunch of heinous bullshit just assume you are being watched all of the time.