Scammers have a new trick up their sleeves, and Kitboga is here to break it down for us! Plus, Duolingo’s mean streak, the U.S. House has banned ByteDance apps, and Meta is planning to open-source its latest AI model.
Chinese apps you should remove from your phone
Security is something you should never take for granted. You may be exposing yourself to hackers and scammers without even realizing it. Here are 10 things you do daily that put you in danger.
You’ve heard it many times from us: Get rid of TikTok and Temu. Now we’re adding even more to the list.
Why does it matter?
Some of these apps, like Pinduoduo, contain malware. Temu, owned by the same Chinese company as Pinduoduo, sells low-quality junk.
If CamScanner is on your phone, get rid of it. It was on a list of apps banned in 2021 over concerns that the Chinese government was using them to spy on American citizens.
A Chinese billionaire founded Shein and is also known for shoddy merchandise and poor service. Oh, and there have been numerous articles citing the company’s use of slave labor.
Turbo VPN has been downloaded over 100 million times and has had multiple Chinese nationals as directors.
WeChat and UC Browser are owned by two of the most valuable companies in the world: Tencent and Alibaba. And here’s something you need to know: The Chinese government owns shares in both of these companies.
TikTok, Lemon8 and CapCut are all owned by ByteDance, which is based in Beijing and is required by Chinese law to give the government access to collected data.
RELATED: Protect your privacy: How to stop apps and people from tracking your every move
Delete these apps now
Here’s a (certainly not exhaustive) list of apps with ties to the Chinese government, along with their parent companies:
Do you use these popular apps with ties to China?
While the U.S. government is busy contemplating a ban on TikTok, another popular app has flown under the radar. Turbo VPN has been downloaded over 100 million times — and has had multiple Chinese nationals as directors.
Sounds like the plot for a Stephen King horror movie: A nation gives its enemies’ kids a free, fun app that takes over and destroys their lives right in front of their parents’ eyes. Newly leaked confidential docs prove Communist China-owned ByteDance knew kids could get addicted to TikTok in under 35 minutes. They also knew TikTok would cause anxiety, depression, memory issues, slower brain development and sleep problems. Hopefully, there’s no sequel.
25 times faster
ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, is scraping info off the web so much faster than OpenAI. Its Bytespider tool (paywall link) is gathering data to feed a new large language model, aka chatbot. Don’t let anyone tell you this company is harmless.
Is TikTok banned? Everything you need to know to protect yourself
TikTok has been under scrutiny for its dangerous privacy practices since its inception, and things are reaching a boiling point.
Rumors of a domestic ban on the China-based video-hosting service have been swirling, and there is some evidence to back them up. Here’s what you need to know.
Tech with ties to China: What to avoid
Color me surprised that TikTok hasn’t been banned in the U.S. yet. Can’t stop using it? Take this simple step to keep your data from going back to China.
It’s not just apps. More than a third of the world’s electronics are produced in China. There’s a difference between products made in China and those made by companies with ties to the Communist Chinese government.
⏰ The clock is TikTok-ing: A three-judge panel just heard TikTok’s argument against splitting from ByteDance, a company with direct ties to Communist China. They say 170 million Americans use TikTok (think of that loss of productivity!) and questioned why other Chinese-owned apps like Temu and Shein aren’t being targeted the same way. I hope Mr. Wonderful’s idea of letting everyday Americans buy TikTok comes to fruition.
It’s happening: The Senate passed the bill forcing TikTok’s Communist China parent company, ByteDance, to sell or face a ban. And while President Biden has signed off on it, there’s a catch: The ban isn’t rolling out until after the 2024 election. The legislation gives ByteDance nine months to sell with a possible three-month extension. Bet they’ll go down to the wire.
This weekend, the House will vote on a revised bill that could ban Communist China app TikTok. The updated terms give owner ByteDance a year to sell — double the original six months — to sway fence-sitters in the Senate.
Use TikTok? Take this one step now or they might be tracking you
With Twitter dominating the social media headlines recently, problems with TikTok seem to be an afterthought. But the platform has too many issues to ignore. Tap or click here to find out how TikTok can record what you type.
Ever used TikTok? File a claim for your part of a $92M class-action settlement
There is no doubt that the video-sharing app TikTok has exploded in popularity recently. During the height of the pandemic, the app ranked as the third fastest-growing brand — only trailing Zoom and Peacock. Tap or click here for smart digital life hacks you won’t find on TikTok.
TikTok caught tracking user data. Another nail in the coffin?
TikTok has been a hot-button topic in the news as of late. On one hand, the app is more popular than ever — with more than 100 million registered users in the U.S. alone. On the other, the app has become a security concern for the U.S. government due to threats of espionage and data collection from Chinese government affiliates.
How to download and save TikTok videos
If you’re an avid TikTok-er who regularly posts or watches content on the social media platform, you may want to start looking for a replacement app. President Trump has been threatening to ban the video platform over security concerns in recent weeks, and last Friday told reporters on Air Force One that a full U.S. TikTok ban will soon be in effect.
TikTok: Is the video-sharing app a national security threat?
If there’s one app that’s defined social media for the past few years, it’s TikTok. Originally designed for sharing videos of karaoke and dancing, the app has skyrocketed to success as a fun, short video platform beloved by Generation Z.