Popular
short-video platform TikTok has announced a new feature that allows users to
refresh their For You feed if they feel that their recommendations are no
longer relevant. This new feature is part of TikTok's ongoing efforts to ensure
an enjoyable viewing experience for its users while also enabling
self-expression.
The For
You feed is a feature that helps TikTok users discover a diversity of content,
creators, communities, and products. However, there are times when people's
recommendations don't feel relevant anymore, or provide enough variety. To
address this, TikTok is rolling out a way for users to refresh their For You
feed recommendations, which allows them to view content as if they just signed
up for TikTok. The recommendation system will then surface more content based
on new interactions.
This
feature adds to a number of content controls that TikTok users already have to
shape their experience, including the ability to filter out videos that use
specific hashtags or phrases from their For You feeds, and to skip future
videos from a particular creator or that use a particular sound. Enabling the
refresh feature won't override any settings users have already chosen to enable
or impact accounts they've followed.
TikTok
is constantly working to provide an enjoyable viewing experience and takes
multiple approaches to help safeguard its platform. For instance, TikTok
removes content that breaks its rules, makes inappropriate content ineligible
for recommendation into For You feeds, minimizes recommendations of topics that
could have a negative impact if viewed repeatedly, and filters out content with
complex or mature themes from teen accounts.
An
inherent challenge of any recommendation system is ensuring the breadth of
content surfaced to a viewer isn't too narrow or too repetitive. TikTok is
intently focused on this challenge and works to design a system that
intersperses a variety of topics. The system generally won't serve two videos
in a row made by the same creator or that use the same sound, and TikTok tries
to avoid showing people something they've seen before.
TikTok
understands that people express themselves in all sorts of ways on the platform
– including when they're feeling down or are going through a difficult life
experience. With this in mind, TikTok's approach is to remove content that
promotes or glorifies self-injury or other policies, while allowing recovery or
educational content, with limits on how often such recovery or educational
content is eligible for a recommendation.
Over the
last year, TikTok has implemented over 15 updates to improve its systems, along
with expanding to support more languages. Its trust and safety and product
teams partner to drive this work, which is informed by academic literature and
consultation with experts, such as the International Association for Suicide
Prevention and the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital in the
US.
TikTok
will continue these efforts as it strives to recommend a diversity of content
to enable an enriching discovery experience. The platform is determined to
provide both a welcoming space for self-expression and an enjoyable environment
for its community.
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