Apple has removed ToTok, a chat and video calling app from the App Store after US publication NY Times deemed it a tool used by the government in UAE to spy on its citizens.
In the New York Times report, intelligence assessment officials have found that ToTok mined the user’s contact list and tracked the device’s location with its veiled local weather forecast.
Totok App Spy
When it hit the App Store it was downloaded millions of times in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. ToTok was particularly popular in the UAE due to Skype and WhatsApp being blocked.
ToTok users are advised to uninstall the app and clear any data that it had accumulated. It’s not the first time a country has used surveillance technology to spy on people- an ‘educational’ app was used by the Chinese Communist Party to determine the user’s location at any given time.
