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A security researcher has levelled some serious accusations against Instagram, TikTok, and Meta (formerly known as Facebook), alleging that their iPhone applications may be able to monitor anything users input in their in-app browsers.
The researcher, Felix Krause, an ex-Google engineer, was quoted by the New York Post as saying that all of these applications claim not to violate a user's privacy or track sensitive user data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and addresses entered through in-app browsers, but they are capable of doing so.
In a report on these applications that was published last week, the researcher said that all of the third-party connections on the applications presented distinct threats to the user.
Mr. Krause claims that when users click on links in the two apps, they are not transported to their favourite web browser, like Safari or Firefox, but rather to webpages in a "in-app browser" supposedly controlled by Facebook or Instagram.
He went on to explain that when Instagram users click on links to products sent to them as direct messages on their iPhones, the in-app browser opens. According to Mr. Krause, customers who choose to purchase the products must provide their credit card number, mailing address, and other details, all of which are trackable by Instagram. According to reports, the same thing would take place if somebody purchased a product after seeing an Instagram commercial.
The researcher's claims coincide with worries expressed by a number of regulatory bodies over the privacy and security of TikTok, which is owned by China.
In addition, Mr. Krause asserted that Instagram "injects Javascript code into every website shown," potentially giving them access to all of that user data as well as additional information, despite the absence of any proof that Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok are gathering or storing such information.
