TikTok is rolling out a new feature that will tell users why a video on their For You page is recommended to them.
“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.” according to a TikTok blog post. “Our goal is to provide a range of relevant and entertaining content. To help people understand why a particular video has been recommended to them, we’ll be rolling out a new tool over the next few weeks.”
The feature is being rolled out, but has not yet fully gone live. A TikTok spokesperson told Mashable that it will “expand over the next few weeks.”
“Our system recommends content by ranking videos based on a combination of factors based on your activity on our app; as you engage with our platform, we will be able to provide more context on your recommended content and expand functionality over time,” a TikTok spokesperson said via email.
When the feature is available, it is quite simple to use. When you scroll down your For You page, paste the share button. Next, tap on the question mark icon called “Why this video”. From there, you will be told why it was recommended to you. For example, one of the videos with the feature available on my For You page says it was recommended to me because “you liked similar videos” and “this video is popular in your country”.
“This feature is one of many ways we’re working to bring meaningful transparency to people who use our platform, and builds on a number of steps we’ve taken to achieve this goal,” it read. in a press release from TikTok. “For example, we’re publishing guidelines for content categories that aren’t eligible for recommendation, tools to help personalize recommendations, and educational resources that explain how our content recommendations work. Going forward, we’ll We will continue to develop this feature to bring more granularity and transparency to content recommendations.”
This comes amid privacy concerns over how user data is shared by the platform and his Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance. There has been increased scrutiny of the app, especially by Republican lawmakers. Representative Mike Gallagher raised concerns that TikTok tracks user data outside of the app and has an overly personalized built-in algorithm that selectively alters the information people see, according to Policy.
