TikTok is letting you choose what’s on your For You Page: Here’s How
With new topic controls, keyword filters, and educational tools, TikTok users now have more power than ever to finetune their feed.
TikTok is making changes to its biggest source of discovery- its infamous For You Page (FYP). Announced yesterday, the platform is rolling out new tools that let users personalize their feed. With expanded filtering tools, topic controls, and educational support, TikTok is giving its users greater control over the content they see – and don’t see.
Manage Topics: Tune your feed by category
Manage Topics began piloting in the US last year, and is now available globally. It allows users to choose how often they see content from TikTok’s top categories, including: Creative Arts, Dance, Fashion & Beauty, Food & Drinks, Health & Fitness, Humor, Funny, Travel, Nature, and Sports.
You can find the Manage Topics feature via two routes:
- Go to Settings > Content Preferences > Manage Topics
- Tap Share on a video in your FYP > choose Why this video > select Adjust your For You > tap Manage Topics
Following these steps will then let you adjust a slider for each category, influencing how much of it appears in their feed.TikTok clarifies this won’t “eliminate any topics entirely”, but it will affect how frequently they’re recommended.
Smart Keyword Filtering, powered by AI
TikTok’s existing Keyword Filtering tool just got smarter. Originally designed to block specific words from appearing across any content you may see, it has helped users restrict 200 million words from feeds around the world. Now, TikTok is integrating AI to filter additional similar keywords, including synonyms found in captions, hashtags, and video descriptions.
TikTok expects the feature to become more accurate “as more people use it over time”. TikTok will also let you see which additional AI-powered keywords are being blocked.
In the coming months, users will be able to select or deselect these words, and TikTok will double the number of keywords that users can filter to 200 per user. Ultimately, this lets users finetune the content they don’t want to see on a greater level.
Educational tools to help users understand the FYP
TikTok is also launching an accompanying education guide, empowering users to understand and shape their For You Page. Explanation videos will also roll out soon, as part of TikTok’s ongoing efforts to help users understand how and why they get recommended specific content.
What could this mean for creators
Although greater user control helps users see content they’re genuinely interested in, it could create new challenges for discovery. As people tailor their feeds to specific interests, content outside of those preferences might see reduced reach.
TikTok emphasizes that no topic will be entirely eliminated, but the reality is that creators may face new hurdles in reaching audiences beyond their niche. This could make it harder to break through the algorithmic, especially if your content doesn’t fall into someone’s preferred categories.
For music makers and content creators, understanding your audience is more important than ever. Despite this seeming like bad news, it also presents an opportunity. These tools could help creators lean into their existing audience, tailoring content accordingly to keep these fans engaged. Alternatively, future success may mean a stronger need to balance your niche appeal with broader discoverability.
The long-term impacts remain to be seen, but it could require a shift in strategy for music marketers and content creators alike.
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