{"id":16819,"date":"2022-07-16T11:40:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-16T11:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?p=16819"},"modified":"2022-07-16T11:40:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-16T11:40:30","slug":"how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","title":{"rendered":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_43 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a03e4e91cda1\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a03e4e91cda1\"  class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a03e4e91cda1\" ><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#How_TikTok_Reads_Your_Mind\" title=\"How TikTok Reads Your Mind\">How TikTok Reads Your Mind<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#TikToks_algorithms_are_powered_by_deep_learning\" title=\"TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning\">TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#Theyre_based_on_implicit_feedback\" title=\"They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback\">They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#Theyre_based_on_time_spent_on_videos\" title=\"They&#8217;re based on time spent on videos\">They&#8217;re based on time spent on videos<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#Theyre_based_on_tiny_increments_of_attention\" title=\"They&#8217;re based on tiny increments of attention\">They&#8217;re based on tiny increments of attention<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#Theyre_based_on_cultural_cues\" title=\"They&#8217;re based on cultural cues\">They&#8217;re based on cultural cues<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\/#Theyre_not_always_right\" title=\"They&#8217;re not always right\">They&#8217;re not always right<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_TikTok_Reads_Your_Mind\"><\/span>How TikTok Reads Your Mind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/SserF1w.jpg\" style=\"max-width:37% max-height:375px; width:auto; margin:0px 10px; height:auto;\" alt=\"how tiktok reads your mind\"> <\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re a frequent TikTok user, you might wonder how the app&#8217;s algorithms work. They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback, time spent watching videos, and tiny increments of attention. As such, the app&#8217;s algorithms have been described as &#8220;deep learning.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TikToks_algorithms_are_powered_by_deep_learning\"><\/span>TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Using computer vision and other methods, TikTok has been able to classify videos by the type of images and other attributes it identifies in them. TikTok uses these technologies to classify videos by people, products, and other characteristics. The algorithms are then used to personalize the content for each user. In addition, TikTok is now integrating AI into other platforms such as Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>While TikTok has never revealed the details of its algorithms, it has been clear that the company has made use of this technology strategically. ML is a technique used to learn from data, and TikTok uses deep learning to train its algorithms. The power of good data and a good algorithm is evident by the number of millions of users the site has. But how did the company go about creating a deep learning algorithm?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theyre_based_on_implicit_feedback\"><\/span>They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been paying attention to the social media space, you&#8217;ve probably noticed that TikTok is a powerful tool to gather granular information about your online behavior. Not only does TikTok collect information about how long you&#8217;ve spent watching certain videos, but it also records how many times you&#8217;ve checked out. In a sense, it&#8217;s a kind of implicit feedback system based on your subconscious choices. This feature is particularly creepy because it gives you an uneasy feeling as you discover what other users are doing with your content.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike traditional social networks, TikTok&#8217;s algorithm uses a combination of signals to help decide what content to suggest based on your preferences. Using data from your account, language preferences, and device type, the app can better determine what content will be relevant to you. Videos that are longer are also given more weight than shorter ones that are posted by people in the same country. Whether your videos are funny or gory isn&#8217;t entirely important to the TikTok algorithm.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theyre_based_on_time_spent_on_videos\"><\/span>They&#8217;re based on time spent on videos<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite the fact that the algorithm behind TikTok is relatively well-polished, many are unsure whether it will train the brain. One recent study on Douyin, a popular Chinese video-sharing app, analyzed the brains of college students. It found that personalized videos activate the reward center of the brain. Although the two apps are separate and operate in different markets, their algorithms reportedly share similar features. According to Dr. Justin Shleifer, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Bradley Hospital, these apps are causing people to be &#8220;behaviorally conditioned.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The algorithm works by measuring tiny increments of attention. While clicking &#8220;like&#8221; on a post is a conscious action, spending 0.02 seconds watching an explicit video is a subconscious one. Those tiny increments can result in a disproportionate number of videos being recommended to you. In some cases, this will lead to an over-saturated news feed and less diversity among users.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theyre_based_on_tiny_increments_of_attention\"><\/span>They&#8217;re based on tiny increments of attention<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Every video you watch on TikTok teaches the app something about you. Within hours, it can determine your sexual orientation, music tastes, and even your sense of humor. You might be interested in watching videos of pets, for instance, but skip past the ones about dogs in favor of the latest trend, &#8220;What I Eat In a Day.&#8221; Despite the potential for exploitation, it&#8217;s possible to become a successful actor or actress on TikTok.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theyre_based_on_cultural_cues\"><\/span>They&#8217;re based on cultural cues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The algorithm used by TikTok is highly secretive, but there are some clues to the process. An internal document from ByteDance, the company behind the TikTok app, explains the rationale for the decision. ByteDance&#8217;s algorithm &#8220;reads&#8221; human behavior and how long people spend watching certain videos. It then uses these cues to determine how well a user is represented in the social network.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theyre_not_always_right\"><\/span>They&#8217;re not always right<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There&#8217;s a saying that goes, &#8220;The tiktok is right, but the tiktok is wrong.&#8221; But that&#8217;s not necessarily true. There are countless times when tiktok is right. Here are some examples. Watch these videos if you want to learn a new language, how to deep clean a bathroom, or why you cough when a drink goes down the wrong hole.<\/p>\n<p> <iframe frameborder=\"0\" width=\"384\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nfczi2cI6Cs\" height=\"215\" style=\"margin:0px auto; display: block;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How TikTok Reads Your Mind If you&#8217;re a frequent TikTok user, you might wonder how the app&#8217;s algorithms work. They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback, time spent watching videos, and tiny increments of attention. As such, the app&#8217;s algorithms have been described as &#8220;deep learning.&#8221; TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning Using computer vision and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[321],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v21.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How TikTok Reads Your Mind - Zeru<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How TikTok Reads Your Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How TikTok Reads Your Mind If you&#8217;re a frequent TikTok user, you might wonder how the app&#8217;s algorithms work. They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback, time spent watching videos, and tiny increments of attention. As such, the app&#8217;s algorithms have been described as &#8220;deep learning.&#8221; TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning Using computer vision and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zeru\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/How-TikTok-Reads-Your-Mind_16819.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lizzie Yates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lizzie Yates\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\",\"name\":\"How TikTok Reads Your Mind - Zeru\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How TikTok Reads Your Mind\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zeru\",\"description\":\"Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e\",\"name\":\"Lizzie Yates\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Lizzie Yates\"},\"description\":\"A content marketing strategist with the Zeru team for a little over 5 years, Lizzie Yates specializes in everything digital media with a particular focus on social media and technology. Her passion? To follow how the social media sites like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are maturing over time, and what businesses can do to keep up. She shares her insights on our blog in a true outpouring of knowledge and expertise. Her knowledge about technology and social media is vast, and she is always willing to share her insights with businesses to help them stay up-to-date with the latest trends.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/author\/writer\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind - Zeru","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind","og_description":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind If you&#8217;re a frequent TikTok user, you might wonder how the app&#8217;s algorithms work. They&#8217;re based on implicit feedback, time spent watching videos, and tiny increments of attention. As such, the app&#8217;s algorithms have been described as &#8220;deep learning.&#8221; TikTok&#8217;s algorithms are powered by deep learning Using computer vision and [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","og_site_name":"Zeru","article_published_time":"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/How-TikTok-Reads-Your-Mind_16819.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lizzie Yates","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lizzie Yates","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind","name":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind - Zeru","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-16T11:40:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/how-tiktok-reads-your-mind#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How TikTok Reads Your Mind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/","name":"Zeru","description":"Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e","name":"Lizzie Yates","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg","caption":"Lizzie Yates"},"description":"A content marketing strategist with the Zeru team for a little over 5 years, Lizzie Yates specializes in everything digital media with a particular focus on social media and technology. Her passion? To follow how the social media sites like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are maturing over time, and what businesses can do to keep up. She shares her insights on our blog in a true outpouring of knowledge and expertise. Her knowledge about technology and social media is vast, and she is always willing to share her insights with businesses to help them stay up-to-date with the latest trends.","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/author\/writer"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16821,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16819\/revisions\/16821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}