The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

I deleted TikTok off my iPhone. Here's why...

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
So I came across this post on Twitter (see the screenshots below). A coder reverse-engineered the app and claimed it was a spy tool...

At first, I was sceptical because when you submit an app to Apple's App Store - they ask for the app's source code. If the coder is right - Apple's engineers would have spotted the security leaks too.

But then I came across this article: Warning—Apple Suddenly Catches TikTok Secretly Spying On Millions Of iPhone Users

It's a real shame because I had high hopes of using TikTok ads.

What do you think?

33844
33845
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

abhishekk_33

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
206%
Jun 14, 2020
31
64
Bihar,India
It just got banned in India for security reasons.

Even if it wasn't banned, still everyone should uninstall it.
There are many reasons,but one most important one would be :
It just kills your ability to focus for a long time.

From books (few months to finish)we shifted to movies(2-3 hours),then to YouTube videos(10-20 min),and now tiktok (10-30 sec).

It is just killing our attention span.

No Fastlaner should use it.(at least not by consumer side)
 
Last edited:

Xeon

All Cars Kneel Before Pagani.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
191%
Sep 3, 2017
2,427
4,628
Singapore
I've no issues with the privacy thing as long as it doesn't log or record my mobile banking transactions.

The only thing with TikTok which I find a bit weird sometimes is seeing pre-teens doing dances and stuff when I scroll down the feed. The youngest I came across was like 8 or 9. And their followers are mostly guys. Depending on what you're selling, TikTok could be THE platform though.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
So I came across this post on Twitter (see the screenshots below). A coder reverse-engineered the app and claimed it was a spy tool...

At first, I was sceptical because when you submit an app to Apple's App Store - they ask for the app's source code. If the coder is right - Apple's engineers would have spotted the security leaks too.

But then I came across this article: Warning—Apple Suddenly Catches TikTok Secretly Spying On Millions Of iPhone Users

It's a real shame because I had high hopes of using TikTok ads.

What do you think?

View attachment 33844
View attachment 33845
I am very fortunate to be born not addicted to social media.

I find it a hassle. I was often reminded by peers “please check your whatsapp/facebook) in college.

I have to force myself to be more familiar with social media because my friend and I are doing online content creation projects.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

df1992

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
238%
May 26, 2020
94
224
London
I've no issues with the privacy thing as long as it doesn't log or record my mobile banking transactions.

The only thing with TikTok which I find a bit weird sometimes is seeing pre-teens doing dances and stuff when I scroll down the feed. The youngest I came across was like 8 or 9. And their followers are mostly guys. Depending on what you're selling, TikTok could be THE platform though.

It's really weird, I found it quite disturbing the amount of young girls very "on show" doing dances that someone their ages realllyyyyy shouldn't be doing... and then if you view the comments, the amount of older men commenting gross stuff. It's vile.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
I am very fortunate to be born not addicted to social media.

I find it a hassle. I was often reminded by peers “please check your whatsapp/facebook) in college.

I have to force myself to be more familiar with social media because my friend and I are doing online content creation projects.

Yeah, I don't care about social media either. The only reason I have a FB account is that I need it to run ads.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

RealDreams

Silver Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jun 22, 2018
345
587
TikTok is for people who have bubbles in their head instead of neurons. Like almost any other social media.

I don't know when people will realize using social media is like letting someone mindfuck you.

1984 is real. It's here. And it has been for more than a decade now.

There's a reason why it's a trillion dollar business. Yeah, "it's all about making people more connected".

Recommended read: Propaganda by Edward Bernays (1928)
 
Last edited:

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
I remember downloading TikTok briefly and never making an account. It was very good at keeping me hooked, despite the fact I am fully aware of social media, how it operates, and how it keeps pulling you in with the promise of endless content you like.

And yet, it kept me interested. If it can keep me interested, imagine how dangerous it is for people who actively care about social media. For the record, I don't have a Twitter or Instagram account, and my Facebook profile picture is from 9 years ago, and my last post has to be from 3 years ago.

I deleted the app somewhat quickly (within a couple of weeks if I remember correctly) because I wasn't getting anything out of it. You can show me only so many videos of pretty people dancing before I get bored of them.

Plus, there were some who were clearly way too young to be seen by people like me. I know of some people who keep the app specifically to watch these underage girls dance. Oh dear.

Upsides of the app? It gave me more hope about the younger generation (not that I'm old, but there's clearly a mindset-gap between me and people who are 18 now), and that they seem to be more accepting and open-minded, which is something I wish we had more of among my peers.

Social media makes use of powerful psychological triggers to pull you in and keep you interested. Resisting them is basically impossible, it's best if you just don't engage with them unless absolutely necessary.

Disabling your newsfeed is the first step. There are plenty of apps / browser extensions that do so, look into them if you can't stay away.
 

Fox

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
Forum Sponsor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
690%
Aug 19, 2015
3,881
26,764
Europe
Ya fully agree it is mostly likely spying on you.

Now you got to think about Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and others doing the exact dame thing on your phone for years. If Tik Tok can do it you can be sure that all the other major apps already have.

FB is worth 54 billion for a reason.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Madame Peccato

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jul 14, 2018
659
2,048
31
Morbegno, Italy
Ya fully agree it is mostly likely spying on you.

Now you got to think about Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and others doing the exact dame thing on your phone for years. If Tik Tok can do it you can be sure that all the other major apps already have.

FB is worth 54 billion for a reason.

Microsoft has full access to our PC's data (if you use Windows), you have to follow some specific steps to fully disable the telemetery, and most of them include fiddling with the PowerShell. Not everyone is capable or willing to do it.

The same goes for Apple's computers, though I don't know if / how to disable the data they send back to the company.

Apple and Google also have been collecting all the same exact data TikTok has over the years with their iOs and Android smartphones, but most people seem to not have particularly cared so far.
 
Last edited:

Beerbread

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
144%
Dec 2, 2019
151
217
New Jersey
I have an account, but the app is so sluggish on Android that I ended up uninstalling it. Social media apps are just not friendly to low-spec phones and sometimes it feels that Android is an afterthought. So if they were spying on me, they didn't do a good job in hiding it :rofl: it was a battery hog too!
 

James Klymus

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
353%
Dec 28, 2018
474
1,672
28
Chicago, Illinois
I've been hearing sketchy things about tiktok ever since it started getting popular. Never had an account, probably never will.

I still end up seeing tik toks though, because people rip them and put them on insta, FB, and snapchat.

And from what I understand, the app is just one big dopamine machine. It sucks you in to the app and keeps you scrolling. I struggle with distraction as it is, I don't need the social media equivalent to heroin on my phone.

Unless you're a 12 year old girl who has nothing else to do I don't see the point of grown men being on tik tok. And the fact that apparently there are a bunch of 8-10 year olds that are followed by middle age men is sickening.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
492%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,664
34
Texas
I've been hearing sketchy things about tiktok ever since it started getting popular. Never had an account, probably never will.

I still end up seeing tik toks though, because people rip them and put them on insta, FB, and snapchat.

And from what I understand, the app is just one big dopamine machine. It sucks you in to the app and keeps you scrolling. I struggle with distraction as it is, I don't need the social media equivalent to heroin on my phone.

Unless you're a 12 year old girl who has nothing else to do I don't see the point of grown men being on tik tok. And the fact that apparently there are a bunch of 8-10 year olds that are followed by middle age men is sickening.

I am intrigued by how fast people are able to grow followings on TikTok. I am hoping to get someone that has built a nice following to come on the radio show. I would like to talk about how they built that following and how the consumers interact with what they post.

I think it would be useful for us to learn more about the business uses of it.

That said, I would just get a junker phone for it at this point.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

RazorCut

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
358%
May 3, 2014
2,032
7,269
Marbella, Spain
Why would you even have it on your phone really

I have it on my phone (although I only open it maybe once or twice a week).

The more you understand a platform the more you can take advantage of it as a marketing medium.
 

Morgan77

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
197%
Jan 1, 2020
30
59
I had tiktok for a while and it's an absolute time sucker, very dangerous. I've deleted it now as I don't care for social media, and it really is a massive distraction. I got it in the first place because of friends talking about it.

You see some funny things on there, you also see a lot of crap. I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't using it for business reasons, and even then I'm not sure if it would be great. I also started seeing an awful lot of regurgitated slowlane dogma from people just trying to gain a following which I couldn't deal with. There's way too much crap financial content on there already.

I am intrigued by how fast people are able to grow followings on TikTok
Either be somewhat funny, be a f*ckboy for all the little fan girls, or be a woman showing herself off to guys. That's what it seems like anyway. Typical social media.
 

RealDreams

Silver Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jun 22, 2018
345
587
Unless you're a 12 year old girl
Even if you were, you would have had your prefrontal cortex destroyed. And at age 18 she wouldn't be able to make a single rational decision in her life. But wait, isn't this how most teenagers are in today's age? Ah, guess it's just a coincidence!

Edit: for who doesn't know what the prefrontal cortex does:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RRtyV_UFJ8
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

Val Okafor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
215%
Nov 14, 2015
147
316
50
San Diego, CA
Umm, for real, what the hell is TikTok? I know I can google it but I haven't bothered.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
I've been hearing sketchy things about tiktok ever since it started getting popular. Never had an account, probably never will.

I still end up seeing tik toks though, because people rip them and put them on insta, FB, and snapchat.

And from what I understand, the app is just one big dopamine machine. It sucks you in to the app and keeps you scrolling. I struggle with distraction as it is, I don't need the social media equivalent to heroin on my phone.

Unless you're a 12 year old girl who has nothing else to do I don't see the point of grown men being on tik tok. And the fact that apparently there are a bunch of 8-10 year olds that are followed by middle age men is sickening.

Some of the content is pretty cool like the NBA videos. Aside from that - it's a big waste of time.

The reason I installed the app is:

1 - I'm currently going through TikTok's onboarding so we can run ads to our stores.
2 - I use it to spy on competitor ads. We using their angles on our Snapchat and IG Stories campaigns.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
I have it on my phone (although I only open it maybe once or twice a week).

The more you understand a platform the more you can take advantage of it as a marketing medium.

Exactly. If you're not using the platform to gather intel before launching ads - you're doing it wrong.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
Microsoft has full access to our PC's data (if you use Windows), you have to follow some specific steps to fully disable the telemetery, and most of them include fiddling with the PowerShell. Not everyone is capable or willing to do it.

The same goes for Apple's computers, though I don't know if / how to disable the data they send back to the company.

Apple and Google also have been collecting all the same exact data TikTok has over the years with their iOs and Android smartphones, but most people seem to not have particularly cared so far.

I use a Mac and iPhone for work - you can disable the data you send back to them and they're transparent about that. Not sure how deep it goes though.

I haven't used Windows in like 10 years so who knows?
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top