Anyone who loves endlessly scrolling through TikTok videos on their iPhone should be aware of some important new advice.
TikTok has had a troublesome month with the popular video app facing a total ban in the US over security and data concerns. The previous government, under Joe Biden, was worried TikTok’s Chinese owners, ByteDance, may be spying on users and collecting personal information.
With a block looming, TikTok decided to go offline for a number of hours on Sunday, January 19, with fans greeted by a message that said, “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok.”
Since recently taking power, new President Donald Trump has reversed the ban, but TikTok is still under the spotlight, and there’s new advice that those using the app on iPhones should not ignore.
It appears during the last block, many people attempted to cash in by selling iPhones, on sites such as eBay, with working versions of TikTok pre-installed. Some of these devices were listed for thousands of dollars and for those without access to the app it could appear tempting.
However, the team at security firm Malwarebytes is now urging caution about buying or selling iPhones with TikTok installed should a new block come into force in the US or other parts of the world, such as the UK.
The first reason not to buy an iPhone with a pre-loaded app is that cyber crooks could use this tactic to infect the phone with data-stealing malware. When purchasing a new device from Apple, it comes fully cleaned, free of bloatware or anything other than a few Apple apps and the iOS operating system.
If you buy from an online marketplace, you can get more than you bargained for.
“If you’re considering buying a second hand iPhone so you can use TikTok, how can you be sure that TikTok is the only thing that’s left behind? I wouldn’t put it past cybercriminals to sell devices they can still access, or even malware,” explained Pieter Arntz from Malwarebytes.
Another thing to be aware of is trying to sell your current phone with TikTok installed. According to Apple’s Support pages, there is a recommended procedure to follow before you sell, give away, or trade-in your iPhone or iPad. One of those steps is to Erase All Content and Settings as this makes sure there’s no personal data left behind.
“If you want to leave an app like TikTok behind, you will have to manually erase all the other items on that list to make sure the buyer will not get hold of other private information about you,” Arntz explained.
“This is tough to do and is highly likely you would leave some of your data behind.”
Finally, never be tempted to head to unofficial app stores to download copies of applications. It’s highly likely these will be laced with malware and probably won’t offer any access to TikTok.
For now, TikTok is back but it faces a tough few months ahead. If a ban comes back into force, don’t ignore the warnings.
