TikTok’s New Feature Allows you to Update the “For You” Page and Retrain the Algorithm
March 25, 2023
Tired of seeing the same video clips once you enter the app? TikTok is rolling out a feature that will let you reset the content of the ‘For You’ page. With just a click on the Update button, users will be able to start seeing new content in the TikTok algorithmic feed, just as if you had just created a new account.
Content
The content that appears in this feed is dependent on the videos you have watched before in the app. As well as the likes, comments, and even the time you spend watching them. If you think that the videos that are presented to you are quite repetitive or you want to see new things, the functionality will allow you to do a restart and start watching different content.
It is essential to highlight that this functionality eliminates the algorithmic preferences of the feed. For you, it does not keep interaction with the functionality to refresh the contents in the feed (the traditional “swipe down”). It also does not harm the contents of the following feed or any other part of the social network. So you will have the possibility of moving forward watching the videos uploaded by the tiktokers you follow without any problems. This new functionality will be fully available to all users around the world in the coming weeks.
TikTok’s For You feed has been the talk of social media since its huge boom well over 5 years ago. One of the strong aspects of the short video social network that was replicated by other highly relevant technology companies, such as Instagram, Amazon, SoundCloud, Reddit and Spotify. Earlier this week, TikTok unveiled a new feed for its app called STEM, which will focus on content involving science, technology, engineering, and math. The new feed will start appearing in the app for US users at the end of March, and will sit with the Following and For You feeds.
What is the TikTok algorithm?
The TikTok algorithm is a recommendation system that sets the videos that will appear on your For You page. No two users see the same videos on their For You page, and the videos you watch can change with the age based on your viewing preferences and even your current mood. This is how our TikTok defines the algorithm of the TikTok For You page:
“A stream of videos curated based on your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you like… powered by a recommendation system that gives each customer content that may be of interest to them.”
How does the TikTok algorithm work?
Initially, social platforms will appear in their algorithms secretly. This makes sense, since the recommendation system is a proprietary technology that helps make each social network unique. Algorithms are a key way that social media engages us and keeps us engaged. TikTok doesn’t want spammers and other shady characters to be able to game the algorithm to get more attention than they deserve. However, as the population has become more skeptical about the internal management of social networks, most of the platforms have revealed the basic performance of their algorithms.
Furthermore, this assumes that we now know some of the key ranking signals for the TikTok algorithm, directly from the app itself. Like Instagram’s algorithm, TikTok’s algorithm bases suggestions on customers’ relationships with the app’s content. What kind of interactions? Anything that offers clues about the type of content the customer likes or dislikes.
