[mybhslaptop]

High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school, time for college students to do that too. Especially since on-campus students have to live with managed WiFi in dorms too.

It's unfortunate to see this political censorship affect grown adults who can make their own decisions - but just happen to be at a state university.

[tarotuser]

You can say "Use a VPN"... However on multiple VPN providers, Tiktok blocks those endpoints. Instead of the Tiktok feed, you get a rude 403 error for any page.

Tiktok really REALLY wants to know your real IP address.

(edit: this comment pertains to the web page through a browser, not the Tiktok app. I did not test the app+vpn.)

[filoleg]

Luckily, a good number of modern home routers support a one-click easy host-your-own-VPN feature.

I have an Amplifi router, and i simply linked my phone to it once, and now I can toggle a VPN on my phone with just one click whenever I need it (just like any third-party VPN service), and it will route the connection through my home network.

No complicated setup, the entire first-time setup took a grand total of 2 minutes. And no one else besides me (and my dad, sometimes) uses that VPN endpoint, so it is extremely unlikely to get detected as a VPN by TikTok or any other service (unless they all just decide to ban my residential ip address).

[kerpotgh]

What’s the point of this? Isn’t it still your own IP address?

[filoleg]

The point is that the (presumably public or school) network I am connected to will have a hard time blocking any content for me (given it will only keep seeing packets between the phone in my hand and the router at my apartment). It will also encrypt my traffic, so MITMing me or trying to see what I am doing will become rather difficult even for the operator of the network I am connected to.

Edit: I think I just realized what made you confused in my original comment. I didn't specify explicitly, but it was implied that I toggle VPN on my phone when I am outside of my home and am connected to a work/public/etc network. Because otherwise, you are correct, trying to VPN through my home network while my phone is actually at home already connected to that network will serve no purpose at all.

[shortcake27]

Plenty of reasons. Many people need a VPN to either bypass network restrictions (like this) or add a bit more security to an untrusted network (eg, cafe wifi). Setting up your own VPN is free, and in some cases, more secure than a shady VPN provider.

[BudaDude]

Those endpoints could also be blocked for legitimate reasons. Many use common VPN endpoints for malicious intentions.

[LarryMullins]

The "legitimate reason" is that knowing information about their users is TikTok's business model.

[BudaDude]

It's also the business model of Google, Meta, Microsoft, and dozens of tech companies that are used everyday by users here without batting an eye. What is your point?

[LarryMullins]

I criticize American surveillance capitalism too. What is your point? Are you trying to accuse me of hypocrisy, without knowing anything about me?

[rchaud]

TikTok is hardly the only service that blocks what it thinks is VPN traffic. I only ever get captcha completion requests when I try to access sites via VPN.

[netsharc]

Huh, the app is already on your phone, if it wants to know your location, it can already do that. If it wants to know the ISP, it's also probably quite easy...

[boomboomsubban]

Or IP addresses associated with VPNs are often found to do things that violate TikTok's ToS.

[Nextgrid]

Read-only access can still be allowed. I suspect the "violation of ToS" is simply privacy - they don't want to serve traffic to someone they can't stalk.

[boomboomsubban]

Read-only access wouldn't prevent bots spamming views for ad revenue.

[rchaud]

Read-only access would still be enough to launch DDOS attacks. I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users.

[Nextgrid]

> I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users.

Twitter allows read-only access even to suspended accounts as well as when you go over certain rate-limits (I believe there was a daily tweet limit at one point, not sure if still there).

[cute_boi]

Well, Tiktok didn't ban vpn, it was those minority number of people who developed bots to capitalize likes/comments/shares. I think it is same with facebook or other social media.

[sudosysgen]

Never had a problem using TikTok (the app) behind Mullvad.

[kube-system]

Or they can just toggle the wifi on their phone. When I was in school, wifi wasn't provided and you were prohibited from bringing your own AP. And there were plenty of applications being firewalled.

[dylan604]

I was wondering if LTE was also blocked for some reason causing everyone that be forced to use WiFi. Clearly, that's not the case. Are people unable to make the logical jump that WiFi isn't needed on mobile?

Even so, that still meet's whatever UT's goal is that it's not on their network. <shrug>

Edit: clearly, the sarcasm intended in wondering if someone was blocking LTE wasn't self-evident. Followed immediately by "Clearly not the case" should have been a clear indicator that it was a bit rhetorical and not something truly being considered.

[kube-system]

UT-Austin doesn't operate commercial cell phone service, and jamming cell phone service is illegal.

[gnicholas]

> jamming cell phone service is illegal.

My local Macy's has found a workaround: thick walls. Ain't no way you're checking the price on Amazon inside their four walls!

[kube-system]

Jokes aside, the walls are probably thick because Simon Property Group gets better insurance rates.

[gnicholas]

The thick walls did precede smartphones, but when I found out that Macy's tracks customers via in-store wifi, [1] I wondered if they might keep using thick walls in the future, to ensure that customers have to use the wifi.

1: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/retailers-tracking-shopper...

[rchaud]

LTE is provided by national cell networks that aren't state-funded, so the law probably doesn't apply to them. Universities usually administer their own networks (at least they did in my rural uni 10 years ago), so they would have to comply with state laws.

[gnicholas]

I've never used TikTok, but I understand some people use it for an hour or two daily. What would be the impact on your mobile data with that kind of usage? Some kids might be on unlimited plans, but those who aren't might be hesitant to run up their bill.

[hot_gril]

Yep, which is increasingly my go-to. No I'm not gonna log into a free wifi that takes 10 seconds to load the portal and is probably less reliable and more restricted than my LTE.

[thot_experiment]

Hey, I learned a lot about cybersecurity working around restrictions on the computers in high school! First it's your school, next it's your government, it's important that kids learn these skills so they have the basics of getting around authoritarian bullshit.

[rchaud]

I don't think that's going to happen anymore, everything is too locked down. My 'cybersecurity' education came from having my computer infected with all types of malware in the '00s.

In the mobile era, nearly everything is sanitized and sandboxed. The idea of needing to get all your software through a centralized, vendor-controlled app store would be absurd in the '00s. Yet here we are.

[cge]

Of note on this point, eduroam service standards require that VPN access be permitted [1, page 32], in part, because VPNs are often part of university infrastructure. Technically, the service definition only requires this for roaming visitors, but it would seem unusual to make a distinction in service on that point.

[1]: https://eduroam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GN3-12-192_ed...

[hot_gril]

That's interesting. Yeah, most common use for school VPN is reading e-books.

[TheHappyOddish]

They did make their own decision. They connected to a network which has some content filtered. I'd imagine porn, gore sites, etc are - if not blocked - logged.

[seanmcdirmid]

> High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school

I'm pretty sure most college students browse TikTok via their phones using mobile data. I'm not sure many will even notice it is blocked.

[commandlinefan]

CS students are about to get a lot more popular there ("Hey, can you help me set up one of them 'VPN' things?")