TikTok: What is an app log?

Since my first article, TikTok: Logs, Logs, Logs, a lot of things happened.

• Microsoft confirmed it was pursuing a deal to buy TikTok’s operations in the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
• Trump was supposed to ban TikTok on August 2nd, then he threatened that TikTok will ‘close down’ on September 15th unless an American company buys it. Finally, he signed an executive order banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in 45 days if they are not sold by their Chinese parent companies.
• Trump then changed his mind and gave TikTok a new deadline: 90 days instead of 45.
• WSJ revealed TikTok was tracking the MAC address of user devices without their consent until November 2019.

It’s time to continue our journey. Let’s stick to the facts to better understand what TikTok is really doing under the hood.

Disclaimer

• TikTok offers plethora of features to their users thanks to its millions of lines worth of code. As such, a single article can not cover a question as broad and nebulous as “does TikTok pose a threat to US national security?”. That’s why I’ll cover the matter over several articles all focused on specific subjects.
• My name is Baptiste Robert, I’m a French security researcher. I’ve been analysing mobile apps for…