Sen. Charles Schumer is among a number of lawmakers concerned that the popular app TikTok poses a national security threat.

Schumer says TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based technology company ByteDance, is a potential counterintelligence threat we cannot ignore.

According to Schumer, TikTok is a risk because the app collects data from users that include IP addresses, location data, metadata and other sensitive personal information. He says Chinese companies have to cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese communist party.

In a statement on its website Tik Tok responded saying, "We store all TikTok U.S. user data in the United States with backup redundancy in Singapore. Our data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of our data is subject to Chinese law."
Lance Ulanoff, the editor in chief of Lifewire.com, says he understands the senator's concern.

"You take enough data about pieces of information about someone and you build a complete picture, that picture could be used for something like identity theft, impersonation of some kind," says Ulanoff. "We know that the Chinese government has tried to hack into various U.S. systems."

People who use and love the app say they aren't concerned.