TikTok and Race

TikTok’s algorithm is known for its ability to capture a users’ interest fast and continually suggest new content to consume based on those interests. While TikTok has never completely shared their algorithm to the public, they have shared some information. Meanwhile many algorithm professionals and users alike have their own theories about how the TikTok algorithm works.

History

The TikTok app is a social media platform in which small video clips are presented to the user based on a constant stream. The For You Page and an endless page of these videos specifically tailored to the interest of the user, how this is done is not exactly known. While not gaining popularity until COVID-19, the TikTok app is an amalgamation of three different apps previously launched, one of which was Musical.ly created in 2014. Chinese tech giant ByteDAnce also launched a similar platform called Douyin. In 2018, ByteDance bought Musica.ly and wanted to expand and rebrand itself under the name TikTok. The TikTok application is known for its powerful algorithm that seems to learn user's preferences faster than other social media platforms before. (add citations)

TikTok's Recommendation Algorithm

For You Page

TikTok’s For You Page is the app's recommendation page that feeds the user endless content of both celebrities and “normal people” based on popularity and also your interests. (add citations)

TikTok's Algorithm

TikTok’s algorithm thrives off of the recommendation For You Page in order to personalize each user's content. The algorithm uses features like video title, audio, and tags in order to isolate these interests. According to the WSJ video, a TikTok representative has shared that shares, likes, and follows influence how TikTok learns about you, not by listening through your device. While this is true, based on a study conducted by WSJ how long you engage with a video or pause on a video gives TikTok the indication to use this like hashtags, video titles, or audios to promote similar content. A new user For You Page starts by showing a variety of popular videos. Based on the interaction with the videos, the TikTok algorithm starts to understand the user’s preferences, and starts to suggest more content that aligns with those preferences. From here, the algorithm will push the user into more and more specific, and unvetted, videos based on their interests. Using IP addresses, TikTok also takes into account your location to suggest videos; however, the user's engagement with those videos determines how much more of that content they will see. An overwhelming majority of content (90-95%) consumed on TikTok comes from the apps recommendation For You Page. (add citations)