TikTok tracks non app users

  • A new report has found that TikTok tracks people across the web even if they are not users of the app. 
  • TikTok received information such as a person’s IP address, their browsing habits and search history. However, some privacy settings can override how much data is tracked.  
  • A spokesperson for TikTok told Consumer Reports that the data “is not used to group individuals into particular interest categories for other advertisers to target” and only uses the data of people without an account for “aggregated reports”.  
  • TikTok have said they are currently working with partners to avoid unintended transmission of sensitive information, such as data about children. 
  • For more on this story please visit the Independent’s website.  

Youth drug use has risen 50% since end of pandemic

  • Research from Charity, The Mix, has found drug use by young people has increased by 50% since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ended.  
  • They also found that a third of those surveyed (age between 16 and 25) had used an illegal drug in the past year. 
  • 11% of young people had used a Class A drug when surveyed in 2021, this had increased to 17% in their latest survey. 
  • Research also suggested more young people are forming addictions, which those taking substances as a habit nearly trebling in 2022.  
  • Find out more on the Independent’s website.  

Twitter is rolling out editable tweets to blue badges

  • Editable tweets are currently in testing in Twitter Blue’s Lab section and being rolled out in New Zealand, Canada and Australia 
  • The tweet will appear as normal, but there will be a pencil icon next to the date, along with text that lets readers know the last time the tweet was edited. 
  • Clicking on the icon shows you a page with the edited tweet, as well as a history of the edits. 
  • According to a Twitter support document, the person who tweeted will have up to 30 minutes to make changes and will only be able to make five edits. 
  • Users will also only able to edit certain types of tweets; things like replies, threads, retweets, and pinned tweets (along with several others) can’t be edited. 
  • For more on this story please visit the Verge website.  

Instagram is testing multiple links in user bios

  • Instagram are in-app testing multiple links in ‘bio’ for selected creators. 
  • There is an option to add a Facebook Group link, along with a range of other URLs to other sites.  
  • It is not clear at this stage how many links users will be officially able to add but the idea is to negate the use of third-party tools.  
  • Its full functionality and when it will be fully rolled out is currently unclear.
  • For more on this please visit the Verge website.