Controlling your destiny is one thing, but controlling your For You page (FYP) on TikTok is another. TikTok is rolling out a new feature that offers more transparency into your algorithm and it’s easy to set up.
What Is TikTok’s Manage Topics Feature?
TikTok’s algorithm has always been shrouded in a bit of mystery. We know that our watch behavior affects what we see on our For You feed, hence the commonly commented phrase, “I’ve built my FYP brick by brick”. Many of us have learned to avoid things that could damage our well-crafted TikTok feeds.
However, in recent years, the app has added features to give you more conscious control over what you’re being served, such as the Not interested button, which helps filter out unwanted content on TikTok, Now, a Manage topics tool lets you essentially rate various topics, from Creative Arts and Dance to Pets and Nature. According to TikTok’s support page on the topic, it “might take some time” for the company to fully integrate the preferences with your feed.
At the time of writing, only US-based users have access to the Manage Topics tool.
How to Use TikTok’s New Manage Topics Feature
You can find the Manage topics tool in your content preferences. Here’s how to use it:
- Open TikTok and tap your Profile icon at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap the menu icon (three lines) in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings and privacy > Content preferences > Manage topics.
- You should see a page with a series of sliders, allowing you to rate topics you’d like to see more or less of. The topics listed at the time of writing are Creative Arts, Current Affairs, Dance, Fashion & Beauty, Food & Drinks, Health & Fitness, Humor, Lifestyle, Nature, Pets, Sports, and Travel.
If you are located in the US but do not see the Manage topics feature in your settings, you might need to update your app.
While the app has previously required more of an up-front time investment to whittle down your preferences, this new feature can focus your FYP content from the get-go. Personally, since applying topic preferences a few days prior to writing this, I’ve noticed some new content variety.
For instance, in the past, TikTok served me videos that were incidentally funny. But now that I’ve increased my Humor slider, I’m seeing a lot more intentionally comedic videos, such as scripted skits.
Clearly, this tool holds promise in being able to better prescribe what you want (or really don’t want) to see in your sacred scroll time.
