Problem
Users
Internal studies showed that many people had concerns about their algorithm. This included content quality, repetition, echo chambers, and rabbit holes.
Regulators
Regulators claimed that TikTok's algorithm supported an attention-seeking business model and could lead to harm by amplifying sensational content
Research
72% of people felt they had a lack of control when using technology (Pew Research Center)
Opportunity
Increase transparency
Gain positive media coverage and public trust through algorithm transparency
Improve content diversity in the For You feed
Improve user agency
Put more control in people's hands
Let people refresh their For You feed as if they had just onboarded
Minimize repetitive recommendations in the For You feed
Strategy
Navigating stakeholder concerns
Negotiated numerous rounds of stakeholder feedback across the product, government relations, privacy, legal, communications, and algorithm teams, due to the feature's technical complexity, sensitivity, regulatory risk, and public perception risk
Stayed agile and rejected complacency, balancing user needs with pressures from internal stakeholders by leading and negotiating from a content design lens
Balancing business goals and user needs
Created and presented dozens of content iterations to gather feedback from different sources
Example: Highlighted the differences between "reset" and "refresh", the pros and cons of each, and which one is more technically accurate
Took feedback gracefully, while still keeping the user forefront and center to iterate multiple times until the content was accurate, helpful, and clear
Outcome
Improved user sentiment and For You feed diversity
Designed an innovative feature that satisfied business goals, user needs, and technical challenges
85% conversion rate after users entered the “refreshed” For You feed
60% response rate to the feature survey
Diversity metrics after the refresh increased, with statistically significant results
Secured 100+ media articles after the feature launch
Improved media coverage
100% neutral or 81% positive
100% of mentions referenced the ability to “refresh” the feed
30% of mentions included references of TikTok addressing repetitive patterns in the For You feed
High-impact articles
—> TikTok’s new feature lets you refresh your For You feed and retrain your algorithm (TechCrunch)
—> TikTok’s refresh feature is for when you’re sick of your For You page (The Verge)
Settings
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Settings
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Feature
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Modal
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Toast
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Survey (default)
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Survey (selected)
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Toast
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Sheet
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