The app does not use exploits, backdoors or malware. intelligence assessments and the paper's own investigations showed that ToTok was used by Emirati intelligence to gather all conversations, movements, relationships, appointments, sounds and images by the app's users. On 22 December 2019, The New York Times reported that U.S. As of December 2019, the app had 7.9 million downloads between the iOS App Store and Google Play, with nearly two million daily users. Īs of December 2019, ToTok was among the most-used 50 free apps in several countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, India and Sweden. In December 2019, BotIM, a subscription-based messaging app, sent its users a message recommending ToTok for free messaging and calls. That ToTok appeared to not be affiliated with a powerful country may also have helped its popularity in the Middle East. The app was also promoted by state-linked Emirati publications and by the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.

Its spread was aided by the fact that the Emirati government blocks certain functions of other messaging services such as Skype and WhatsApp, and was apparently the first Voice over IP app to gain regulatory approval. Introduced in 2019, it soon found a wide user base in the Emirates. According to The New York Times, the app appears to be a slightly-customized copy of YeeCall, a Chinese messaging app. Conference calls involving up to 20 people can also be made. The ToTok app offers free messaging, voice calls and video calls. The Times 's reporting, denied by the app's developers, caused Google and Apple to remove the app in December 2019. According to The New York Times, it is also a mass surveillance tool of the United Arab Emirates intelligence services, used to gather private information on users' phones. It was introduced in Abu Dhabi Global Market economic free zone. ToTok is a messaging app developed by Giacomo Ziani.

Botim download