How does the TikTok algorithm work? According to the news announced by TikTok:
When you open TikTok and go to your feed, you’ll be presented with a stream of videos that match your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you like. This feed also lists other users on your screen and which creators the algorithm thinks users will find interesting.
TikTok outlines how this recommendation system works here , which factors determine which videos appear on a TikTok user’s feed.
User interactions – Videos you’ve liked or shared, accounts you follow, comments on posts, and content you’ve created. If you post with a specific hashtag, you’ll have a higher chance of seeing other creators using the same hashtag in your feed. Video details – Includes details like description, audio, songs, and tags.
Device and Account Settings – This less influential factor is your device’s language preference, country, and mobile phone type. TikTok claims that this third factor is not as influential as the first two.
In fact, this TikTok algorithm works just like any other social media. In other words, when you engage with the content, you will be shown more similar content. Commenting on the content and using hashtags helps trigger this algorithm.
Other notable points shared by TikTok are as follows:
“The fact that the user has watched the video content from beginning to end indicates that they are more interested in the content. This factor is more important than whether the viewer and the video content producer are in the same country.
Therefore, users who watch all videos are more likely to see related content.
“We encourage users to select their interests when they join the platform. This way, you help ensure that content related to your interests is presented in the feed screen.”
Like any other platform, TikTok connects you with interesting content based on your interests. “Your feed doesn’t just consist of relevant content that you select. When you start watching videos from new accounts, it brings hashtags, sounds, effects, and trending topics into your feed.
After searching for content on the platform, it will bring you other content related to the search in a suggested screen. If your sibling has taken over your phone and started watching different videos, you will start seeing other related content in your feed screen.
“Sometimes you may find videos in your feed that contain content you’re not interested in. These suggestions are our intentional recommendations. We want to bring a variety of interesting videos to your feed, help you discover new creators, and provide new opportunities.”
TikTok says posts are independently rated and match the interests we identify in the video’s title and description, which promotes the content by reaching a wider audience.
TikTok doesn’t say exactly which of these factors are percentage-wise, but the elements outlined here pretty much describe what you’ll see on your TikTok feed screen.
