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Haven’t heard of TikTok? Then you might have been living under a rock (or maybe just enjoying some serious digital detox!). TikTok is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, where users share short-form, often viral videos, featuring dance challenges, funny skits, DIY tutorials, products, and more. This platform has seen a recent boom in entrepreneurship with the launch of TikTok Shop, which allows users to easily sell products directly through the app to the millions of daily TikTok users.
Ownership of TikTok has been a point of contention due to the complex, multi-layer corporate structure of the app. The app is owned by TikTok LLC, which is incorporated in Delaware, US, and based in California, US. The LLC is controlled by TikTok Ltd, which is registered in the Cayman Islands and based in Singapore. TikTok Ltd is owned by ByteDance Ltd, which is registered in the Cayman Islands and based in Beijing, China. The lack of transparency around data storage has been a concern for those in OSINT and DFIR communities. The hazy appearance of TikTok’s data storage has become a bit clearer recently due to shifts and changes happening with privacy legislation in the U.S.
One big change is the availability of user compliance data for TikTok. Compliance data is a game changer for digital investigators, and if you have not been working with this data source in your investigations, you have been missing out.
Compliance data is a consent-based source for data. This means the account user must grant consent and request the data. Once the request is submitted, it typically takes 24 hours to be processed, and once received, you’ll have a full history of user activities from the TikTok app.
Here is how the consent process works. Go to the Privacy section of TikTok.
Select the Request Data option and the format you want the data in.
You will receive an email notice to the account associated with your TikTok account. That will give you a link to go to download your data.
Once the data is produced, you can import it into your favorite investigative tool and get into the weeds of details that are available. Some of the popular data you can find include:
Summary of available data.
Account settings.
Comments made on videos.
Activity log.
Watch Live history.
TikTok shop order history. Details are redacted in the screen shot, but data is included in request.
Off TikTok Ad history.
While compliance data offers a wealth of information, it doesn’t replace the device data entirely. Capturing both the physical device along with compliance data gives the most complete picture of a user’s actions. Keep in mind as well that TikTok can be used on a smartphone, web browser, and even your desktop. Functionality and what is recoverable may vary depending on the access method.
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