TikTok makes it mandatory for users to see personalised ads

Based on users' content preferences, the company will show ads in the app.

The app currently has a setting that allows users to choose whether they'll be served ads based on their activity within the app.

"Starting April 15, your settings will change and the ads you'll see may start to be based on what you do on TikTok," according to a pop-up notification.

"Upcoming changes to ads. To help TikTok stay free, we partner with advertisers to show you ads. Based on your settings, you currently see general ads that aren't based on what you do on or off TikTok," the company added.

According to the company, the users still have control over whether ads can be more tailored to them "based on data from our advertising partners."

A TikTok spokesperson told the Verge on Wednesayd that the company "will continue to be transparent about our data privacy practices and help users understand their privacy choices on our Safety Center."

The change in TikTok's privacy settings reflects the way ads already operate on many social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The change is related to Apple's upcoming rollout of iOS 14, which will require developers to get users' permission to track their data across apps for targeted advertising, the report mentioned.