By Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
TikTok users have access to two news feeds. The first one brings together content from the accounts that the user follows, while the second one suggests videos that match with the user's viewing patterns and interests. As of now, users can find out why a particular video gets suggested to them.
TikTok users have access to two news feeds. The first one brings together content from the accounts that the user follows, while the second one suggests videos that match with the user's viewing patterns and interests. As of now, users can find out why a particular video gets suggested to them.
TikTok users often remark how TikTok's 'For You' thread so often hits the mark, corresponding with their interests and tastes, even some that are not so obvious, with some users saying it seems the 'For You' suggestions know the person better than they know themselves. Regularly praised for its relevance, TikTok's algorithm is getting a little bit less mysterious with the Chinese social network deciding to play the card of (relative) transparency, by lifting the lid on some of the reasons these videos are selected for each user.
"Our system recommends content by ranking videos based on a combination of factors based on your activity on our app, which includes adjusting for things you indicate you're not interested in .... To help people understand why a particular video has been recommended to them, we're rolling out a new tool over the coming weeks," outlined TikTok.
Starting now, users will have access to a new feature. By clicking on the share panel on a video in their "For You" feed, they will then be able to see a question mark icon leading to 'Why this video,' which will detail the various reasons this video was selected for them.
According to TikTok's statement, there are four possible reasons:
- "user interactions, such as content you watch, like or share, comments you post, or searches"
- "accounts you follow or suggested accounts for you"
- "content posted recently in your region"
- "popular content in your region."
TikTok did not indicate if this option will be available for all the videos present on the social network or if it will only concern new posts.
While TikTok is at the heart of one of the biggest tech scandals of the end of the year, the Chinese social network has decided to share such data and communicate about it. A choice that comes during a week when ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, admitted, on Friday, December 23, 2022, to having spied on American journalists. According to ByteDance, employees improperly obtained journalists personal data of journalists from the Financial Times and BuzzFeed to track suspected media links. ByteDance has said that the employees involved are no longer with the social media company.
