TikTok & AI-powered Ad Tracking: Difference between revisions

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In 2025, TikTok unveiled new AI-driven tools like Insight Spotlight and Content Suite<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Mia |date=June 4, 2025 |title=TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |access-date=2025-09-01 |work=The Verge}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=TikTok Inc. |date=2025-06-03 |title=Insights Spotlight: Stay Ahead Of Trends |url=https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/insights-spotlight-trends-tool |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=TikTok}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=TikTok Inc. |date=2025-06-03 |title=Content Suite: Find & Amplify The Best UGC |url=https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/content-suite-creator-ugc-library |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=TikTok}}</ref>, designed to help brands target users with unprecedented and invasive precision. However, while TikTok highlights the benefits for advertisers and engagement, the changes raise even more concerns about data harvesting, privacy, and the ethical use of user-generated content.

==~~Overview~~==

==Background==

In June 2025, TikTok announced a series of new features aimed at enhancing advertiser capabilities. These features include ''Insight Spotlight''<ref name=":0" />, which analyses user demographics, search behaviors, and viewing trends to generate AI-powered ad suggestions for brands and companies. In addition to this, ''Content Suite''<ref name=":1" /> has been introduced, which filters user-generated videos mentioning a brand or product for potential conversion into advertisement. These tools, according to TikTok, will allow companies to understand “... what matters to viewers and what will make them stop and watch”<ref name=":0" />. Furthermore, increase engagement with users of the application by aligning ads with real-time cultural trends. However, critics argue that the increased data harvesting and reliance on user interactions for targeted advertising deepens existing concerns about privacy, transparency, and the commodification of sensitive or socially significant movements<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Incogni Research |date=2025-08-05 |title=10 popular apps that collect extensive personal data on Americans are foreign-owned |url=https://blog.incogni.com/popular-foreign-apps/ |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=Blog Incogni}}</ref>. As TikTok already collects more than two dozen categories of user data, including personal identifiers, browsing history, and in-app activity, consumer advocates have called for greater accountability and clearer user control over how this information is gathered and used<ref name=":2" />.

==Community Concerns==

Criticism of TikTok’s expanded advertiser tools has centered on data privacy and the overwhelming extent of information collected from users<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laurinavičius |first=Rokas |last2=Baliūnaitė |first2=Ilona |date=Jun 25, 2020 |title=Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It |url=https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=BoredPanda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klais |first=Brian |date=2022-01-20 |title=New Research Across 200 iOS Apps Hints that Surveillance Marketing is Still Going Strong |url=https://app.urlgeni.us/blog/new-research-across-200-ios-apps-hints-surveillance-marketing-may-still-be-going-strong |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=URL Genius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huddleston Jr |first=Tom |date=~~Feb 8~~ 2022 |title=TikTok shares your data more than any other social media app — and it’s unclear where it goes, study says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=CNBC}}</ref>. A 2025 report by Incogni Research in August identified TikTok as the most data-hungry major social media platform, noting that it collects over two dozen categories of personal data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, in-app messages, photos, videos, browsing history, and device identifiers<ref name=":2" />. Six of these categories — including names, addresses, and user-generated content — are shared with third-party entities for purposes such as targeted advertising<ref name=":2" />.

Criticism of TikTok’s expanded advertiser tools has centered on data privacy and the overwhelming extent of information collected from users<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laurinavičius |first=Rokas |last2=Baliūnaitė |first2=Ilona |date=Jun 25, 2020 |title=Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It |url=https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=BoredPanda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klais |first=Brian |date=2022-01-20 |title=New Research Across 200 iOS Apps Hints that Surveillance Marketing is Still Going Strong |url=https://app.urlgeni.us/blog/new-research-across-200-ios-apps-hints-surveillance-marketing-may-still-be-going-strong |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=URL Genius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huddleston Jr |first=Tom |date=2022-02-08 |title=TikTok shares your data more than any other social media app — and it’s unclear where it goes, study says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=CNBC}}</ref>. A 2025 report by Incogni Research in August identified TikTok as the most data-hungry major social media platform, noting that it collects over two dozen categories of personal data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, in-app messages, photos, videos, browsing history, and device identifiers<ref name=":2" />. Six of these categories — including names, addresses, and user-generated content — are shared with third-party entities for purposes such as targeted advertising<ref name=":2" />.

These are just some of the data-categories TikTok collects from its users<ref name=":2" />:

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==References==

[[Category:TikTok]]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 In 2025, TikTok unveiled new AI-driven tools like Insight Spotlight and Content Suite<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Mia |date=June 4, 2025 |title=TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |access-date=2025-09-01 |work=The Verge}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=TikTok Inc. |date=2025-06-03 |title=Insights Spotlight: Stay Ahead Of Trends |url=https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/insights-spotlight-trends-tool |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=TikTok}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=TikTok Inc. |date=2025-06-03 |title=Content Suite: Find & Amplify The Best UGC |url=https://ads.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/content-suite-creator-ugc-library |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=TikTok}}</ref>, designed to help brands target users with unprecedented and invasive precision. However, while TikTok highlights the benefits for advertisers and engagement, the changes raise even more concerns about data harvesting, privacy, and the ethical use of user-generated content.
-==Overview==
+==Background==
 In June 2025, TikTok announced a series of new features aimed at enhancing advertiser capabilities. These features include ''Insight Spotlight''<ref name=":0" />, which analyses user demographics, search behaviors, and viewing trends to generate AI-powered ad suggestions for brands and companies. In addition to this, ''Content Suite''<ref name=":1" /> has been introduced, which filters user-generated videos mentioning a brand or product for potential conversion into advertisement. These tools, according to TikTok, will allow companies to understand “... what matters to viewers and what will make them stop and watch”<ref name=":0" />. Furthermore, increase engagement with users of the application by aligning ads with real-time cultural trends. However, critics argue that the increased data harvesting and reliance on user interactions for targeted advertising deepens existing concerns about privacy, transparency, and the commodification of sensitive or socially significant movements<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Incogni Research |date=2025-08-05 |title=10 popular apps that collect extensive personal data on Americans are foreign-owned |url=https://blog.incogni.com/popular-foreign-apps/ |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=Blog Incogni}}</ref>. As TikTok already collects more than two dozen categories of user data, including personal identifiers, browsing history, and in-app activity, consumer advocates have called for greater accountability and clearer user control over how this information is gathered and used<ref name=":2" />.
 ==Community Concerns==
-Criticism of TikTok’s expanded advertiser tools has centered on data privacy and the overwhelming extent of information collected from users<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laurinavičius |first=Rokas |last2=Baliūnaitė |first2=Ilona |date=Jun 25, 2020 |title=Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It |url=https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=BoredPanda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klais |first=Brian |date=2022-01-20 |title=New Research Across 200 iOS Apps Hints that Surveillance Marketing is Still Going Strong |url=https://app.urlgeni.us/blog/new-research-across-200-ios-apps-hints-surveillance-marketing-may-still-be-going-strong |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=URL Genius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huddleston Jr |first=Tom |date=Feb 8 2022 |title=TikTok shares your data more than any other social media app — and it’s unclear where it goes, study says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=CNBC}}</ref>. A 2025 report by Incogni Research in August identified TikTok as the most data-hungry major social media platform, noting that it collects over two dozen categories of personal data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, in-app messages, photos, videos, browsing history, and device identifiers<ref name=":2" />. Six of these categories — including names, addresses, and user-generated content — are shared with third-party entities for purposes such as targeted advertising<ref name=":2" />.
+Criticism of TikTok’s expanded advertiser tools has centered on data privacy and the overwhelming extent of information collected from users<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laurinavičius |first=Rokas |last2=Baliūnaitė |first2=Ilona |date=Jun 25, 2020 |title=Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It |url=https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=BoredPanda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klais |first=Brian |date=2022-01-20 |title=New Research Across 200 iOS Apps Hints that Surveillance Marketing is Still Going Strong |url=https://app.urlgeni.us/blog/new-research-across-200-ios-apps-hints-surveillance-marketing-may-still-be-going-strong |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=URL Genius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huddleston Jr |first=Tom |date=2022-02-08 |title=TikTok shares your data more than any other social media app — and it’s unclear where it goes, study says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/tiktok-shares-your-data-more-than-any-other-social-media-app-study.html |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=CNBC}}</ref>. A 2025 report by Incogni Research in August identified TikTok as the most data-hungry major social media platform, noting that it collects over two dozen categories of personal data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, in-app messages, photos, videos, browsing history, and device identifiers<ref name=":2" />. Six of these categories — including names, addresses, and user-generated content — are shared with third-party entities for purposes such as targeted advertising<ref name=":2" />.
 These are just some of the data-categories TikTok collects from its users<ref name=":2" />:
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+[[Category:TikTok]]