Explained: TokTok — a messaging app could be an Emirati spying tool

The UAE has restricted popular messaging services like WhatsApp and Skype, and ToTok was billed as a “fast, free, and secure” way to chat by video or text message.

ToTok, ToTok app, ToTok app Google Play store, Google Play Store, ToTok app US, ToTok app US government, ToTok spying app, ToTok app UAE government, Tech news, Indian Express

ToTok has now been removed from Apple and Android app stores. (NYT)

ToTok, a chat and voice calling app that became available earlier this year and has since been downloaded millions of times from the Apple and Google app stores, is actually a spying tool, according to a United States intelligence assessment, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

ToTok is used by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to try to track every conversation, movement, relationship, appointment, sound and image of those who install it on their phones, The New York Times, which investigated both the app and its developers, said.

The UAE has restricted popular messaging services like WhatsApp and Skype, and ToTok was billed as a “fast, free, and secure” way to chat by video or text message. While the majority of its users are in the Emirates, the app has been downloaded throughout the Middle East, and in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.

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In the US, ToTok surged to become one of the most downloaded social apps last week, according to app rankings and App Annie, a research firm, The NYT report said. According to recent Google Play rankings quoted by the report, it was among the top 50 free apps in Saudi Arabia, the UK, India, Sweden, and other countries. However, not many people in India actually use ToTok.

The Aldar Building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Emirates’ signals intelligence agency and Pax AI, a data mining firm linked to ToTok, have their offices. (Ben Job/Reuters)

HOW TOTOK WORKS: ToTok appears to be a copy of YeeCall, a Chinese messaging app offering free video calls, slightly customised for English and Arabic audiences, according to a forensic analysis commissioned by The NYT. It functions much like the myriad other Apple and Android apps that track users’ location and contacts. Its name is an apparent play on the Chinese app TikTok, which is hugely popular in India. The Chinese telecom giant Huawei recently promoted ToTok in advertisements.

WHO’S BEHIND TOTOK: According to The NYT, the firm behind ToTok is Breej Holding, most likely a front company affiliated with DarkMatter, an Abu Dhabi-based cyberintelligence and hacking firm where Emirati intelligence officials, former US National Security Agency employees, and former Israeli military intelligence operatives work. DarkMatter is under FBI investigation, according to former employees and law enforcement officials, for possible cybercrimes.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW: The NYT report has been quoted extensively in media across the world. On Thursday, Google removed the app from its Play store after determining ToTok violated unspecified policies. Apple removed ToTok from its App Store on Friday and was still researching the app. Users who already downloaded the app will still be able to use it until they remove it from their phones.

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