Staff Writer, Dubai

Social messaging app Totok has recently been gaining popularity in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE, garnering over 600,000 downloads on Android and iOS in the region.

However, upon checking, ToTok has been removed from Google Play and the Apple Store.

The main reason the app was so attractive to UAE residents, is because it is the only Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications that operates freely and without the need for a subscription to mobile services in the country.

Since 2017, the UAE has banned VoIP features on applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and many others.

“ToTok let users access a full suite of features for free, without needing to use a VPN or any other workarounds,” stated Wired.

The developer behind the app is Breej Holding Ltd., which does not have an “extensive online footprint,” according to the publication.

It was found that the application was not developed from scratch, but rather it was “based on code from the Chinese communication app YeeCall, likely through some type of licensing agreement.”

Wired explained that the app was set up in a way in which it would run continuously in the background.

“It would have requested permission to access users' microphones, location data, photos, camera, calendar, contacts, and Siri integration. The app provided explanations for why this access was necessary: for example, that location data was needed to display information about local weather.”

Wired stated that ToTok uses private information like any normal social media platform would. However, who gets access to the data, and where it goes is unknown.

Apple and Google both interfered immediately, with Apple saying it was still in the process of investigating the app.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Google said, “We take reports of security and privacy violations seriously. If we find behavior that violates our policies, we take action.”