KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The state of Kansas recently announced a ban of the popular app TikTok for certain state employees.
"It's got some pretty alarming things in there," said cybersecurity expert Tanner Shinn.
Experts like Shinn say TikTok's millions of users are at risk.
"It's really pretty invasive, the amount of stuff it can get," he said.
Shinn says that means access to what users type, even outside the app.
It also gives access to a 'keyring,' which means passwords and access to GPS.
“The biggest concern about it is you’re becoming a commodity at that point," he said. "I mean the only reason that it exists is to sell your data, right? If you are not actively buying something, you are probably the product."
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly banned many state employees from using the app for security reasons on Wednesday.
The federal government has done the same.
"We do have national security concerns, at least from the FBI's end, about TikTok," said FBI director Christopher Wray.
Chinese-owned TikTok says it doesn't share user data with the Chinese government, which is the U.S. government's primary concern.
The company's U.S. representatives say they're working to prove there's nothing to worry about.
"We've been working with the federal government on a solution that we believe solves any perceived problem with Tiktok beyond a shadow of a doubt," said Michael Beckerman, Tiktok vice president and Americas public policy head.
Experts say the best thing user can do, for now, is delete the app.
