If you’re a TikTok noob, you might be new to some of the lingo used on the social media platform. But there’s really only one thing you need to know to navigate your feed — and it’s all about the FYP.
What does “FYP” stand for?
FYP is an acronym for “‘For You’ page.” It’s pretty much TikTok’s version of a homepage. Here you’ll find video recommendations and relevant viral content as curated by the platform itself, according to The Verge.
Why do people comment “FYP” under videos?
Internet users love to share how they’ve found a user’s content. As such, people comment “FYP” on a video when TikTok has displayed it on their “For You” page.
You might also notice the hashtags #fyp, #foryou and #foryoupage on some user’s videos. According to Vice, there’s a prevailing theory that using the hashtags in video captions will make the post more likely to populate on people’s “For You” pages and thus, go viral. However, there’s no proof that TikTok actually works this way.
How does the FYP work?
Like most social media platforms, TikTok uses an algorithm for its video recommendation system. The algorithm ranks videos based on three main categories: user interactions, video information and device and account settings.
User interactions encapsulates all the videos you like and share, the accounts you follow, the comments you leave and the content you create. Video information is the captions, sounds and hashtags you engage with. TikTok combines this information with your phone and account settings — like your language preference, country and device type — to further optimize video recommendations.
Next, the algorithm weighs each factor based on its value to the user.
“A strong indicator of interest, such as whether a user finishes watching a longer video from beginning to end, would receive greater weight than a weak indicator, such as whether the video’s viewer and creator are both in the same country. Videos are then ranked to determine the likelihood of a user’s interest in a piece of content and delivered to each unique For You feed,” according to TikTok.
That means the recommendation system detects content users might like based on their behavior when using TikTok, not based on what’s the most popular.
The more you interact and engage with videos and the more users you follow, the more the algorithm will be able to accurately determine what you’ll like. Users can also hit “Not Interested” on videos or hide content from a creator to further fine-tune their FYP.
TikTok’s algorithm also wants you to see a wide range of content. It won’t recommend the same creator or the same sound twice in a row, but it will add undiscovered and unfamiliar content to your FYP.
“Our goal is to find balance between suggesting content that’s relevant to you while also helping you find content and creators that encourage you to explore experiences you might not otherwise see,” TikTok said.
Needless to say, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to get those dance challenges and makeup hacks on your “For You” page.
If you enjoyed this story, check out the 10 most popular users on TikTok.
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