TikTok is rolling out a new option that enables you to start your TikTok feed afresh, if you no longer like the videos being recommended to you, while it’s also developing new systems to avoid repetition, and limit exposure to harmful elements.
First off, on the new feed refresh option – over the last few months, TikTok has been testing a new process that essentially enables users to start their account over again, by resetting what the algorithm thinks they might be interested in.
Now, TikTok is rolling that option out to all users.
“On TikTok, For You feeds help people discover a diversity of content, creators, communities, and products. But we also understand that there are times when people’s recommendations don’t feel relevant anymore, or provide enough topical variety. So, we’re rolling out a way to refresh For You feed recommendations if they no longer feel like they’re for you. When enabled, this feature allows someone to view content on their For You feed as if they just signed up for TikTok. Our recommendation system will then begin to surface more content based on new interactions.”
It’s a good option, which gives users more freedom to dictate their in-app experience – which is something that other social apps likely can’t provide, or at least haven’t been able to in the past.
Meta’s longstanding advantage in the social media space has been its all-powerful social graph – i.e. everybody you know is on Facebook, so if you want to stay up to date, and see all the things that your friends and family are interested in, you have to also be there.
Over time, Facebook and other apps have refined this, with your Likes and follows dictating what the algorithm shows you next. But TikTok’s algorithm is different, in that it learns much faster, based on your actual viewing habits, with your behaviors in the app constantly updating and refining its algorithmic system, which then enables it to showcase the best-performing videos from across the app, as opposed to being limited by your connections and explicit activity.