The TikTok Algorithm Feels Different to U.S. Users After They Returned to the App

When TikTok users based in the United States returned to the app after around 12 hours following the temporary ban, they found the app to be a totally different place. At least, in some ways. Some users immediately shared TikTok videos where they said their TikTok algorithm was different upon their return to the app, and that was a major cause for concern.

While other users reported on TikTok that their algorithms were exactly the same, and that nothing had changed for them, upon opening the app for the first time since it went dark, the change in the algorithm seemed to be pretty widespread. Some attributed this to a growing concern that TikTok would be censored now, more than ever. Others just wanted their usual scrolls of funny cat videos and recipes back. But for everyone affected, the change in the TikTok algorithm was worrisome.

Even if your TikTok algorithm seems to be more "normal" now than when you first returned after the temporary ban in the U.S., there is no denying that it might have been a little strange at first. Some users shared on TikTok that they weren't (and still aren't) seeing some of the content they had seen a lot of before the short-lived ban. Others posted videos about seeing news content on their FYP from verified news sources only, and no longer from other users who wanted to share their input on the news.

"I feel like no videos that I was watching before the ban are showing up now. Users I can't find, hashtags I can't find. Like, something is weird, something is up," one TikTok user shared in a video following the U.S. ban. "I went from looking at videos that were, like, 150,000, 250,000 likes, and 250,000 views. Now, I'm going to videos that only have, like, 17 views in my FYP."

One TikTok user commented on that video to share that their "bricks are missing" in reference to the common TikTok phrase about building your FYP "brick by brick."

Another user commented, "I think it's because people either signed out or people deleted the app. And since it was really a temporary ban, it's deleted out of app stores. some people may not be able to make it back."

With rumors about Meta purchasing TikTok and Meta's previous declaration about Facebook posts and fact-checking, some users believe their algorithms are different because they are being censored. Another user in a separate video on TikTok shared that they no longer see videos about drones, aliens, or wildfires, which to them, could mean a hefty censoring on what they are shown in their FYP.

Now, other TikTok users believe they have been censored from seeing such topics in their feeds and from even finding much about them when they search. Other users on TikTok have shared on the app that their algorithms are mostly the same since the short ban in the U.S. But those who have noticed a big change are concerned about what's to come.