TikTok will not access user clipboard after iPhone update shows app reads text

Tik Tok has said that it will no longer automatically access user clipboards after an iPhone update revealed Chinese app's constant reading of copied text. In the beta version of iOS 14, a feature sends an alert to the user letting him know if an app is pasting from the clipboard. "A security patch from Apple has suddenly exposed just how many smartphone apps are reading users' clipboards every time they are on screen," The Telegraph said. In the same report by the daily, TikTok claimed that it would stop "snooping on users'.

"For TikTok, this was triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive, spammy behaviour. We have already submitted an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the anti-spam feature to eliminate any potential confusion," Tik Tok said in a statement. As per the report, other apps that read the iOS clipboard include AccuWeather, Call of Duty Mobile and even Google News.

Meanwhile, amid the India-China face-off, Chinese app TikTok's ratings have taken a beating. The app, once one of the most-downloaded in India, has slipped in its rankings as the call to boycott Chinese goods grows louder. Intelligence agencies provided the government with a list of 52 apps including TikTok over privacy concerns. The agencies urged the government to either block these apps or advise people against using them. Last year, the government had ordered a ban on TikTok after child pornographic content was found on the platform. Apple and Google had removed the app from its play stores for a while before the ban was lifted.

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