Customizing Your TikTok Feed: Don’t Show Me This Again

TikTok soared to prominence in the late 2010s for several reasons. Two of the most important were its focus on short-form, catchy videos and its customized For You pages (FYP) driven by advanced TikTok algorithms.

The algorithms’ ability to track TikTok user behavior and preferences allowed the creation of curated feeds that no other social media platform could duplicate. People were shown TikTok content that largely matched their interests, keeping surfers on the app for longer periods of time.

Algorithms are just computer code, though, and they’re not perfect; not every TikTok post that a user sees will fit their preferences. For example, the system is also programmed to give preference to trending videos and topics that might not interest some users.

There’s another potential problem with the platform’s use of past behavior to determine what people will see. Some users may have become bored with a steady stream of similar posts and want a more varied assortment of videos on their For You feed. Others may once have been fascinated with a topic, but have since lost interest in the content they keep seeing.

Fortunately, the algorithms can be overridden, at least to a degree. There are several ways you can help shape your TikTok experience.

1. Sending an Immediate Message

When you’re shown a TikTok video you don’t like, and you don’t want to see similar content in the future, just “press and hold” on the video until a popup appears. Tap “Not interested” in the top row of icons, and the algorithms will adjust your preferences accordingly.

You may not see a drastic change in your feed immediately, but keep registering your dislike, and you’ll start to see those types of posts disappearing.

If you prefer, you can instead tap the “Share” icon (the sweeping right arrow) on the right side of the post, and you’ll see the “Not interested” icon in the bottom row.

2. Blocking a User’s Videos

Some users may produce content that you just don’t like and don’t want to see. When one of their videos pops up on your feed, click on their Profile icon (at the top of the right-hand row of options), tap the Share icon at the top right of their profile, and choose “Block” from the popup. You won’t see their posts again.

3. Changing Your Preferences

Let’s say you’ve been job-hunting, so you’ve been seeing lots of “How to create a resume” videos on your feed. You’ve just found your dream job, though, so you want to stop those types of posts from appearing. It only takes a few clicks.

Visit your own TikTok profile by tapping the “Profile” icon at the bottom right of your screen, open the profile menu by clicking the three horizontal lines at the top right, and choose “Settings and privacy” from the popup. Scroll down and find “Content preferences,” and tap “Filter keywords.” There, you can enter any words describing videos you no longer want to see on your feed.

If you want to manually tell the algorithms the types of posts you’re more (or less) interested in seeing, tap “Manage topics” from the “Content preferences” menu. You’ll see a long list of content categories like “Dance,” “Fashion & Beauty,” and “Humor”; you can use sliders to indicate how interested you are in each. Your selections will be reflected in your feed.

Finally, if the content that’s been annoying you could be considered “mature” in nature, just choose “Restricted Mode” on the “Content preferences” menu. That will block all mature videos from being shown in your TikTok account.

As we’ve mentioned, computer code isn’t perfect. You might still see a few posts that you’d rather not be bothered with, even after making these changes. However, your feed will be much more interesting and attuned to your likes and dislikes than if you’d just let the algorithms guess your preferences.