TikTok update: Huge change to algorithm will change users’ For You page

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TikTok is making a major change to its algorithm, focused on stopping its users falling into holes of particular content.

The company will look to add more variation to the kinds of videos it shows in an attempt to make the experience of using it more diverse.

The changes appear to be an attempt to stop users from finding themselves being recommended the same kinds of videos over and over, especially when those videos might be distressing or unhealthy.

TikTok’s algorithm is central to the way the app works. Users open up the app to see a “for you page” or FYP, where they are encouraged to keep scrolling through various recommended videos that are personally chosen through an algorithm.

TikTok’s algorithm has been praised for the speed that it identifies a users’ interests, and the efficiency with which it is able to find more posts to suit those interests.

But that also has a dark side: users have little clear way of choosing what the app might serve up, or influencing those recommendations. That means they can easily be shown a run of unhealthy videos, with very little way of getting out of those holes.

“At TikTok, we recognize that too much of anything, whether it’s animals, fitness tips, or personal well-being journeys, doesn’t fit with the diverse discovery experience we aim to create,” it wrote. It already aims to stop that by avoiding showing two videos from the same creator, or with the same sound, in a row, for instance.

But it noted that it needs to do more to “avoid recommending a series of similar content – such as around extreme dieting or fitness, sadness, or breakups – to protect against viewing too much of a content category that may be fine as a single video but problematic if viewed in clusters”, it said.

TikTok also said that it is working on new ways for people to actively exclude certain kinds of videos from their feed. Users will be able to choose certain words or hashtags and ban them from being recommended, it said – so that a vegetarian could ban meat, it suggested, or someone working on self-esteem might see less beauty posts.