TikTok is introducing a brand new function that allows you to reset your For You feed and begin recent to retrain the app’s algorithm about content material you take pleasure in. The corporate introduced immediately that it’s rolling out “Refresh,” a brand new choice for customers who really feel like their feed suggestions are not catered towards their pursuits.
The brand new function shouldn’t be confused with the app’s pull-down refresh choice, as the brand new instrument principally resets your For You feed to its authentic setting in a method. When the refresh function is enabled, the app will floor content material on the For You web page as if in case you have simply signed up for TikTok. The app’s suggestion system will then start to floor extra content material based mostly on new interactions.
For those who allow the brand new function, your Following feed, profile and inbox received’t be affected. In different phrases, though your For You feed will get a recent begin, the remainder of your app expertise will stay untouched.
The brand new function is welcome addition for folks whose tastes might have modified over the previous few years or for individuals who really feel like their suggestion system doesn’t actually perceive their pursuits anymore. For example, you will have appreciated watching baking recipe movies previously, however are not serious about them, but you could be flooded with them in your For You feed. Or, say you had been completely obsessive about a TV present at one level and nonetheless see it throughout your For You web page despite the fact that you’ve moved on to different pursuits. The brand new function may assist in conditions like these.
TikTok notes that the brand new function enhances its present content material controls that mean you can form your expertise on the app. For instance, you possibly can select to mechanically filter out content material that makes use of particular hashtags or phrases. There’s additionally a “not ” choice you can choose once you come throughout a video that’s to not your liking. Generally it may possibly look like the “not ” button isn’t sufficient, which makes the refresh function a helpful choice to have. It’s value noting that the refresh function received’t override any settings you’ve already chosen to allow or impression accounts you’ve adopted.
Picture Credit: TikTok
You possibly can entry the brand new function by navigating to your settings, clicking in your content material preferences after which deciding on the “Refresh Your For You feed” choice. From there, you must click on the “Refresh” button. TikTok will warn you that this motion can’t be undone.
TikTok additionally supplied an replace on its efforts to make sure viewers are discovering a wide range of content material whereas minimizing content material that doesn’t essentially violate its insurance policies. The corporate notes that it filters out content material with mature themes from teen accounts. For instance, greater than 65,000 movies about beauty surgical procedure had been made ineligible from the viewing expertise of teenagers within the first two months this yr.
The corporate says it really works to make sure its programs floor a wide range of subject. For example, it says viewers often received’t be served two movies in a row made by the identical creator or that use the identical sound.
TikTok additionally works to restrict some content material that doesn’t violate its insurance policies, however might impression customers if it’s considered repeatedly, notably with regards to content material with themes of unhappiness, excessive train or weight-reduction plan, or that’s sexually suggestive. TikTok permits restoration or academic content material, however limits how typically such content material is eligible for suggestion.
“Our programs do that by in search of repetition amongst themes like unhappiness or excessive diets, inside a set of movies which might be eligible for suggestion,” TikTok stated in a weblog submit. “If a number of movies with these themes are recognized, they are going to be substituted with movies about different matters to scale back the frequency of those suggestions and create a extra numerous discovery expertise. This work is ongoing, and over the past yr alone, we’ve carried out over 15 updates to enhance these programs, together with increasing to assist extra languages.”
TikTok’s replace on its progress comes as a report from the Heart for Countering Digital Hate, a non-profit group, not too long ago revealed that the app pushes movies about consuming problems and self-harm to younger customers. TikTok isn’t the one social media platform going through scrutiny for its affect on younger folks, as Instagram has additionally been scrutinized for promoting disordered eating.
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