TikTok to tweak its algorithm to avoid problematic content

San Francisco: Short video platform TikTok has announced that it is changing the 'For You Page' algorithm to "avoid showing users too much of the same content". With this new change, the firm does not want users to see "too much content from a certain topic", including things like extreme dieting, sadness, and breakups

"We are looking at how our system can better vary the kinds of content that may be recommended in a sequence. That's why we're testing ways to avoid recommending a series of similar content - such as around extreme dieting or fitness, sadness, or breakups - to protect against viewing too much of a content category that may be fine as a single video but problematic if viewed in clusters," the company said in a statement.

In addition, TikTok also announced that it is adding features that would allow users more ways to customise what content they don't want to see. Users would be able to choose hashtags and words related to the content they don't want to see on the For You feed.

"We enable people to tap any video and select "Not interested" to automatically skip future videos from that same creator or using the same audio. This new tool will offer another way to help people customise their feed - whether for a vegetarian who wants to see fewer meat recipes, or someone working on self-esteem who would rather see fewer beauty tutorials," the company added.

A recent report said that TikTok has emerged as the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide for October 2021 with more than 57 million instals.

Last year, the Indian government said it was banning 59 apps developed by Chinese firms, including ByteDance's TikTok and PUBG Mobile over concerns that these apps were engaging in activities that threatened national security.