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Tiktok is a social networking mobile app. The Tiktok app allows users to create short music and lip-sync, looping videos. It first launched in China in September 2016 and has grown extremely popular around the world after it went international in 2017.
How popular has it become? As at February 2019, Tiktok had been downloaded 1 billion times from Android and iOS stores. As at November 2019, it had recorded 1.5 billion downloads, putting it in the same league as global leaders, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram in terms of numbers. These figures do not include downloads from 3rd party stores and sources.
The Tiktok app’s logo
Tiktok App vs Douyin App: Global vs China
In China, the Tiktop app is called Douyin. The global TikTok app is the same as the China-only version. But in order to meet Chinese laws, they do not run on the same servers. Douyin servers are based in China, while Tiktop TikTok servers are based in countries where the app is available.
Douyin app gained over 100 million users in its first year of availability in China alone. Once it went international as Tiktok, its runaway success was well on the way, with millions of users in India and the United States of America adopting it.
In September 2019, the National Football League (NFL) and TikTok announced a new multi-year partnership to publish NFL content on the Tiktok app.
On October 24th, the American Music Awards became the first award show to announce nominees on TikTok.
Tiktop App Downloads in 2019
Here is how TikTok currently stands in terms of download numbers in 2019 from the Android and iOS app stores:
- WhatsApp: 707.4 million
- Messenger: 636.2 million
- Tiktok: 614 million
- Facebook: 587 million
- Instagram: 376.2 million.
A Tiktok user, asked about the app, described it as an app like Instagram, only better.
In 2020, TikTok all became the top downloaded app, overtaking Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to take the number one position.
TikTok and safety concerns
Researchers are generally of the opinion that the app does not pose any more risk to a user than any other social media sharing application, like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Which means, there is a lot of background processing of user data on it, just like it happens on those other apps.
Why the FCC wants to ban TikTok
Like any social networking app, Tiktok accesses as much personal data as possible, with attendant privacy issues. The app includes parental control features designed to help keep minors safe. However, being a China-developed app, it is subject to China’s rules that give the Chinese government access to users’ private data. The US government has insisted that TikTok app harvests and sends back a huge amount of data back to China, something they are uncomfortable with.
The FCC’s reports on the TikTok app has this to say of the app, “It collects search and browsing histories, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages and metadata, plus it has collected the text, images, and videos that are stored on a device’s clipboard.”
India and USA take action over TikTok app’s data privacy and security concerns
In 2020, India banned TikTok over national security concerns. The United States of America has made moves to take similar actions – an outright ban of the app from Apple and Google app stores, the option of selling its US business to a local buyer, or new, tighter rules that will give more oversight on the app.
Commissioner of the US Federal communications Commission insists that, “TikTok is not just another video app. That’s the sheep’s clothing. It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing. I’ve called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices.”
Ownership of TikTok App
Beijing-based Chinese developer, ByteDance, owns Tiktok.
Tiktok app is available in over 75 languages and used in over 150 countries. ByteDance has offices in cities around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
References
- Tiktok and the National Football League (NFL) sign agreement: source .
- the American Music Awards became the first award show to announce nominees on TikTok: source .
- FCC Commissioner’s Twitter handle: source .
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Author:InfoDesk
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The hardware Bixby button on my Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is the most redundant feature ever. I have used Bixby for a period and haven’t found it as useful as I’d like. And even if I were to find Bixby useful, there are other actions I would prefer to remap Bixby button to.
Bixby button is a dedicated button on the side of the phone (and some other Samsung phones) that can be used to launch Bixby Voice or Bixby Home.
Samsung has been adamant about it and made it next to impossible to reassign or remap Bixby button for other uses besides launching Bixby. For example, the button would probably make for a good hardware camera shutter. Another cool use would be for taking quick screenshots, launching the browser, or launching any other app of your preference.
You will find the Bixby button on your Samsung smartphone where the arrow points
- How to Remap Bixby Button Using 3rd Party Apps
- You Can Now Make Bixby Button Your Own
- List of Samsung Phones with Bixby Button
How to Remap Bixby Button Using 3rd Party Apps
There have been a number of attempts by developers to create an app that lets you remap Bixby button . Those efforts have been mostly futile, as Samsung has consistently frustrated those developers. Yes; Samsung has been a big bully with regard to this matter.
Is it by force to use Bixby or to use the button for Bixby? Which is why there has been a lot of clamour by S8 and S9 users for the ability to remap Bixby button.
You Can Now Make Bixby Button Your Own
There is good news though. Samsung has announced that the option to customize the button for use as a shortcut to other apps and actions is on the way. Here is the official statement from Samsung:
Bixby Key Customization is compatible with the Galaxy S10, and will be available via a software update on previously released Bixby-enabled flagship smartphones running Android Pie OS.
The new customization feature is already available on Galaxy S10 devices and will filter down to Note9, S9, and S8 devices soon. You will be able to remap Bixby button to execute some other action or launch your favourite apps.
What Samsung has done is not totally let you get rid of Bixby on the key. Instead, you will be able to customize the button to launch Bixby with either a single or double press, and then map the other option to the activity or app of your choice. Fair enough.
Being able to use the key for other actions is great news indeed. Our phones, our usage patterns. That is what makes a smartphone really smart – the ability to adapt to the user, and not the other way around.
To get this new feature and be able to remap Bixby button, make sure that your device is running Android Pie. Samsung is already rolling out the remap feature as an app update to Bixby. After the app update is installed, open the phone Settings > Advanced features > Bixby key . Customize it as you wish.
PS: Beyond being able to customize the button, Bixby itself needs to get a lot better and more usable. Right now, it is one of the features that I do not find useful on my Galaxy S9 Plus. It is so redundant that I even disabled Bixby Home on my device.
List of Samsung Phones with Bixby Button
Not all Samsung phones have a Bixby button. The Samsung phones that have a Bixby button are:
- Galaxy S8 and S8+
- Galaxy S9 and S9+
- Galaxy Note 8 and Note 9
- Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+
- Galaxy Fold
These phones have a dedicated button on the side that can be used to launch Bixby Voice or Bixby Home.
However, newer Samsung phones such as the Galaxy S20, S21, Note 10, Note 20, and Fold/Flip series do not have a separate Bixby button. Instead, they have a Side button that can be customized to perform different functions, such as turning off the phone, calling Bixby, or opening an app. You can also use voice commands or swipe gestures to access Bixby on these devices.
If you are a lover of Bixby or would like to try out new features, you just might find the new Bixby Text Call feature, introduced in 2023, useful.
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Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
