Last update — 22 January 2022
By installing the browser extension and enabling the opt-in, you are accepting the “Data Donation Agreement,” hereby drafted:
When you enable the Data Donation feature, you agree to share with us the recommendations that TikTok shows to you and the research results, as they are personalized too.
Let’s see why you should consider participating.
BigTech spies on you. Time to spy on them.
Despite their colossal influence, TikTok’s algorithms are incredibly opaque. For example, TikTok does not give any analytics regarding the videos it promotes to millions of people. Data donation allows us to expose the recommendation engine collectively. We believe such transparency is essential to hold the company accountable to its users and content creators.
Fully Anonymised, and Private by Design.
The data you share is 100% anonymized. So much that even we cannot link the different data points you provide together.
We analyze TikTok, not You.
We don’t collect or ask for any other data than the ones you decide to donate. We don’t even know your name or email. Though, by aggregating the observations of all the donors from the TikTokTrex community, we can build unique analytics about the algorithm’s behavior.
Help Content Creators.
The TikTok algorithms are known to randomize the exposure, allowing the lucky Content Creators to boost their visibility; Later on, this beneficial boom disappeared. The perception of being demoted causes frustration, and shadowban exists, although it is deployed only on a few selected conditions. We want to understand and lead additional transparency to the algorithm’s digital governance mechanism.
Data Activism to Defend your Digital Rights.
Researchers also use the data you contribute to study the algorithm and help inform regulators on various subjects, ranging from individual privacy to censorship, which can ultimately lead to better laws that protect you.
Data Donation affects only the activity on your browser — our browser extension does not impact the mobile app.
We are a non-profit operating for the public interest; we are not making money off data. Check out our partner section to know our sponsors.