TikTok will finally let you reset your For You page
TikTok is rolling out a new feature that will let you reset your For You page if it starts getting dull.
When you make an account on TikTok for the very first time, your For You page isn't really For You because it doesn't know you yet. So, the algorithm serves you a wide variety of content, from dancing to crocheting to comedy, tracks what you seem to be most interested in watching, and starts creating a For You page that is For You.
But sometimes, that For You page can get stale. It can be boring to be served videos that the algorithm is serving up to you, or, worse, damaging. For instance, if the algorithm noticed you stay and watch frog videos, it might serve you exclusively amphibian-related TikTok videos — and you might eventually get bored of them. Or, let's say, your nephew scrolls on your TikTok for a while — all of a sudden, you're flooded with cartoon videos and have to find your way out.
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That's why TikTok is rolling a new feature called Refresh, which will reset your For You page.
"When enabled, this feature allows someone to view content on their For You feed as if they just signed up for TikTok," Sandeep Grover, TikTok's head of trust and safety product, and Mabel Wang, TikTok's head of content and creator product, said in a blog post on March 16. "Our recommendation system will then begin to surface more content based on new interactions."
This comes just a few weeks after TikTok began testing the feature with a small number of users.
Refresh could be a way to make the social media platform a healthier and happier place — but it could also be a way to keep us logged on for longer.
Topics Apps & Software Social Media TikTok
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
