TikTok is fun. TikTok is addictive. TikTok is… risky? There’s a lot of debate about the app’s privacy and security, especially since its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing. The previous White House administration nearly banned the app from US markets. I’m not sure how much of my TikTok data is being siphoned off to unknown governments, but I do know this: There are settings you can adjust to maintain a higher level of privacy on TikTok.

Let’s face it: most free apps (and many paid ones) exist to profit from your data (all eyes are on you, Meta). So it’s no surprise that TikTok, a free app, isn’t all that concerned with keeping your experience private. However, I find one aspect of the app particularly aggressive: contact sharing.

TikTok really wants to share your account with everyone you know. From a business perspective, that makes sense: the app wants more users. I’m not a fan, though. I don’t use TikTok for the community. I’m here to watch funny videos. If I have a clip I want to share with people, I’ll do it outside of TikTok. I have no reason to connect with people I know on the app.

TikTok goes beyond what you might expect from an app when it comes to “sharing” your account with others. The social media company wants to send your information not just to your contacts, and not just to your Facebook friends, but also to people who know people you know, and to people who open or send you links. That doesn’t work for me, and it probably shouldn’t work for you either.