8 Mistakes That Ruin Your TikTok FYP

While TikTok can be a great resource when the algorithm matches your current interests, your For You Page may not always reflect the content you're actually interested in or want to see. Try to avoid making these mistakes when scrolling through TikTok to keep your FYP aligned with your interests.

1. Interact with content you don't like

First, try not to engage with content you don't like. Liking, commenting, sharing, and watching content you don't care about tells the algorithm that you want to see more of it. Instead, the best practice is to swipe away from videos or photos that don't match what you want to see when scrolling through TikTok.

2. View profiles you know but don't like

Building on the first tip, it's also important to not look at profiles of people or brands you don't want to engage with. If you want to see a TikTok from a celebrity that's making waves, click on their profile to let the algorithm know you want to see more content from that celebrity's profile.

If you just want to watch it normally once, you can search for the video on YouTube or watch TikTok on a web browser while logged out.

3. Follow accounts you don't really care about

If you decide to follow people you know in real life, TikTok's algorithm may take this as a sign that you want to see content from other people you might know. If you want to stay anonymous on TikTok or keep your profile separate from your personal life, avoid following people you know.

4. Switch between devices

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Switching between the TikTok app and the browser version of TikTok can also change the content your For You Page shows. For example, switching from your mobile account to the browser version of the same account will change your For You Page from curated content you want to see to more general comedy and music content you haven't interacted with on your account.

If you have more than one smartphone, your TikTok feed may also be different on each device despite being logged into the same account.

5. Search for keywords while logged in

Sometimes, searching TikTok can be useful for a specific problem. However, just because you search for a particular term once doesn't mean you'll want to see that content all the time.

For example, if you're searching for makeup tutorials but primarily use your TikTok account to find book-related content, you should make sure you log out of your account before searching for makeup. Otherwise, you'll slowly see more makeup content in your feed.

6. Do not use other accounts for work

Researching different work-related tasks means browsing TikTok for recently trending styles, music, challenges, etc.

To avoid this, you can create a separate account just for research, which will have a different work-related For You Page and can save you a lot of research effort later.

You can also completely reset your TikTok For You Page if your feed is serving up content you don't want to see.

7. Skip the content you like

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If you see something you like, try to watch the entire video or swipe through all the images in a carousel. The more time you spend watching content that really resonates with your interests, the more likely you are to see the same type of content on your For You Page in the future.

Time spent watching videos or swiping through live photos counts toward how TikTok recommends content to you.

8. Not checking language options

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While this may seem obvious, switching language options on TikTok can be useful if you're learning a new language and want to see TikTok spoken or written in the language you're learning.

For example, instead of searching for Japanese TikTok when using the English version of the app, FYP will naturally show more Japanese TikToks if you switch your language preference to Japanese. Make sure you know how to switch your preferences back to your preferred language, in case you want to change them again.

It's easy to accidentally interact with content you don't like and change your TikTok FYP for the worse. These reminders can help ensure your FYP stays consistent with your interests.

David Pac

Update 08 January 2025