Since the release of iOS 14 in beta, some have been able to test the new functionality which alerts us when an application is able to read the content of ourpress-paper. This cache memory is responsible for saving all the text that you copy, for example from your SMS client or a website on your browser, so that you can then paste it wherever you want. For example, it's very practical for connecting to an app for the first time when your password is already stored on Chrome because you were previously a fan of its web version.
But if a malicious publisher were to access this type of data, then the guarantee ofconfidentialitypromised by Apple cannot be kept. AndTikTok, one of the most popular social networks in the App Storedespite the multiple controversies about it, is regularly singled out for its close links withChina which - as we know - does not hesitate to interfere in the private lives of its citizens…
Okay so TikTok is grabbing the contents of my clipboard every 1-3 keystrokes. iOS 14 is snitching on it with the new paste notificationpic.twitter.com/OSXP43t5SZ
— Jeremy Burge (@jeremyburge)June 24, 2020
A fix already in place
It was a Twitter user who noticed it while testingiOS 14(all the new features can be discovered here): when you open TikTok after copying an element elsewhere on the iPhone, a notification appears informing you that the Chinese application is reading the content in question. Which was not made clear before.
Fortunately, the publisher,ByteDance, has since published an update available to everyone and which puts an end to this relatively dubious practice. However, for months, the firm was able to collect private and perhaps sensitive information from millions of Internet users, especially teenagers. The official response from his spokesperson? The objective would have been to identify “spam” and automated behavior. Everyone will be judge.
i-nfo.fr - Official iPhon.fr app
By : Keleops AG
