A new TikTok feature adding a “local” tab that offers videos from around a user’s area revived fears about privacy and potential doxxing. This appears to be part of the reason the company started collecting “precise location information” from TikTokers who agree to allow it, which set off calls to delete the app in January.
Despite assurances from TikTok’s new ownership, some are ready to delete accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
How TikTok's Local Feed works
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC announced the new feature last Wednesday. In a press release, the company bragged that the tab will “help you discover and connect with content, businesses, and services wherever you are.”
“Posts in the Local Feed are shown to people based on location, the topic of the content, and when the content was posted, making it easier to discover what's going on locally,” the statement reads.
The new tab isn’t available to TikTokers under the age of 18, those with private accounts, or who have their post privacy set to “Friends” or “Only You.”
The company stressed that sharing local location data with the app is opt-in, meaning it’s set to “off” by default. The Daily Dot confirmed this last month in both the U.S. and the U.K.
The Local Feed induces user panic
Regardless, the thought of appearing in the Local Feed freaked some TikTokers out hard. They compared it to doxxing, and some claimed they can’t figure out how to opt out.
“So I had to private my TikTok due to the new changes,” said @StellaLuna5555 on X. “The app now has a tab where it shows your content to anyone local to you. From what I’ve seen, there’s no way to back out of it.”
“I’m really upset because I basically had to throw away 288k followers. An account that I built.”
“This is the most dangerous feature I've ever seen,” wrote @CherriFireLive. “I don't want anyone to know what city I live in."
“My TikTok account is now private,” she added later. “If this feature isn't changed soon, my account will be deleted as well. I was so close to 100k followers, so it'll be really sad to leave.”
Can you opt out of the Local Feed or not?
Confusion over this new feature and whether local data collection is on or off spread across social media. While some assured fellow TikTokers that the app will not put you in the Local Feed unless you click to opt in, others claimed that they’ve found their videos in the tab anyway.
“There’s a lot of misinfo & fear mongering going around about this feature right now, even outside of vtubing,” wrote @tazthemenace. “TikTok is NOT going to *post* your content onto the local feed unless you opt-in.”
They further claimed that once the feature reaches a TikToker, the app will ask their permission to know their location, and if you hit “no,” you won’t appear in the Local Feed.
However, this information is not present in TikTok’s press release and may be fueling confusion. A lot of app users will hit “approve” on that request without thinking about it.
Meanwhile, @gloomy_skyevt says that TikTok bases location on IP addresses and will still use that information to stick you in the “local” tab even if you opt out.
“So the reason TikTok’s local tab is so accurate despite not giving location is because they are using IP addresses,” she said. “If you opt out of it, they will still use your IP address for the local tab.”
Regardless of who's right, a lot of folks are panning the feature before TikTok could clarify.
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