Authoritarians favor some messaging apps. However, there is an app that may be explicitly developed to spy among its users. The chat app ToTok is reportedly a surveillance tool for the United Arab Emirates revealed unnamed US official to the New York Times. The UAE uses ToTok to monitor users' conversations, track users' locations under the pretense of weather, and identify social connections as well as peeking at the users' media, reveals a classified report.
The majority of the users of the ToTok messaging app are in the UAE, but it is popular in other parts of the world. The app has seen an increase in demand in the US recently. Just like popular messaging app Skype and WhatsApp, the Emirati user to user app is designed to connect people.
However, US officials reportedly discovered that ToTok messaging app has a more sinister purpose. US officials found out that the government of the United Arab Emirates is using ToTok messaging app to monitor its users. ToTok appealed that it functioned well in various countries like the UAE, which have restricted other messaging app services.
This is also one of the major factors why ToTok messaging app has become so popular in the region, considering citizens are unable to use other messaging apps like WhatsApp. ToTok messaging app is originally available to both iOS and Android devices and has become so popular in Asia, Europe, Africa, and recently in North America. Chinese tech and telecom giant Huawei even advertised the app.
Currently, both Apple ad Google removed ToTok messaging app on their respective app stores. Users who have already downloaded and installed the app can still use the app unless they have manually removed it from their devices. Prior to its removal, ToTok messaging app has become one of the most downloaded social apps in the US.
It is unclear when precisely US intelligence officials first discovered that ToTok messaging app was being utilized to mine data and track users. American officials reportedly warned some allies about the dangers of ToTok messaging app says a person familiar with the situation. According to Google, the app violated unnamed policies, while Apple is still researching more about the chat client.
But, if the recent report is accurate, even if the app is already removed from the App stores, the damage has been done. The tactic is disconcerting based on its nature, says Engadget. The UAE conveniently convinced countless users to give their information to spies without any qualms, the report adds.
