TikTok’s ‘not interested’ feature doesn’t really work

During the hour-long scrolls on TikTok that I succumb to weekly, there are certain posts that pop up, unprompted, on my For You Page. Sometimes it’s a sound-fuelled trend that I find aggravating. Other times, there’ll be a set of videos featuring a celebrity I’ve never heard of. These videos fall under subjects or trends I have consistently declared I am “not interested” in, with the hopes that they will disappear.

I’m almost certain that users truly familiar with TikTok will be aware of the plight I’m about to describe.

As much as the app satisfies our appetite for certain content, other material served can fall short. Some videos don’t suit personal interests; others can be boring, or even provoking. So we long-press the video in question, tap “not interested,” and hope for the best. But this seemingly well-meaning solution has never really worked in my case, and apparently, for many others too.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

I searched around other corners of the internet to see if my issue with TikTok is shared by other users. On Reddit, several threads conveyed TikTok consumers with similar frustrations. Over on Twitter, countless tweets do the same.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

In r/Tiktokhelp, a community-run subreddit with over 26.2k members, users have expressed their passionate dislike in content ranging from Sex and the City to Star Wars, all of which have a constant presence on their FYPs despite proclamations of not being interested in it.

A scan of the phrases across one thread says it all: “extra annoying,” “nightmare suggested topic,” and “whyyyy.” Some users said the more they press “not interested,” the more certain content seems to appear for them, sometimes more frequently than before they attempted to get rid of the topic. One user shared: “i tried literally everything – removing my sim card, deleting and reinstalling tiktok, restarting my phone, deleting the cache/data, i actually reset my phone today.”

Apart from airing their grievances, some redditors share tips on how to combat the persistence of unwanted content. But even with those tips — avoid clicking on certain hashtags, don’t linger on videos for too long — haven’t worked, as the replies across the subreddit reveal.

Mashable reached out to TikTok, who directed us to their newsroom posts. A post from the TikTok newsroom in 2019 says, “The Not Interested button is for curating videos to your taste.” Elsewhere, on its Support page, TikTok includes brief instructions on how to use this feature, succinct enough to make users believe the app is offering an easy fix.

“Note: If you don’t like a video, you can long-press on the video and tap Not interested and similar videos will be shown less,” the help page reads.

Granted, TikTok itself has said videos will be “shown less,” not promising that content won’t be shown at all. Still, the ineffectiveness of the feature is glaring to TikTok users, who are literally begging the question: why is pressing “not interested” having little to no result? And, as a concerning follow-up, does TikTok have a reason for stubbornly pushing such content despite this?

We know the power of the TikTok algorithm already: the relationship between user and algorithm is intimate, wrote Mashable’s Jess Joho in 2021. The app can be clued in to your sexuality before you are, know whether you’ve just gone through heartbreak, or if you’ve got a new pet. The FYP is tailored to provide clusters of content that speak to the soul, whether it’s celeb-driven, informative, or centered around well-loved hobbies.

But the app has struggled with its algorithm in equal bouts. In the past, for instance, TikTok has been flagged for sending users down a rabbit hole of extremist content from far-right groups and movements. More recently, the app has been called out for housing pro-Kremlin content and disinformation regarding the war in Ukraine.

More light was shed on TikTok’s algorithm in 2021, when a leaked copy of an internal company document made it to the pages of the New York Times. Here, TikTok’s video algorithm was unveiled, making it clear that the app aims to get users to stick around for extended periods of time, but also come back later. It was revealed that TikTok hopes to share a diverse range of content and topics, to prevent users from getting bored; the report also made evident that the app places emphasis on the quality of each creation, judged by a number of variables. Time spent on each video is one of them – so if you allow a video to play for a distinctive amount of time, it is likely the algorithm will then offer content falling in a similar sphere.

When it comes to respective TikTok tastes, the app has provided users with features that provide control, or — given the subject here — an illusion of control. With genuinely harmful content on TikTok, the most practical option is to report such videos, using the app’s Community Guidelines as a foundation. You can like videos, dislike them, send content to friends, and each of these moves should help filter desired onto your screen.

The FYP should be living up to its name.

So “Not interested” should be an additional tool under the belt of a TikTok fan. The feature should easily help us see what we like to see, by edging out what we don’t — and shouldn’t us TikTok addicts have agency over what we’re exposed to?

For an app that thrives on users devoting hours to devouring content, the delivery of videos that puts people off appears strange. The FYP should be living up to its name. That would result in more time spent on TikTok, which is surely what the app wants from us.