TikTok is giving users even more control over the content that shows up in their main “For You” feed — a move that could help tailor your scrolling experience to better match your actual interests.
Though not completely new, these updates aim to enhance content personalization and filtering in a much more hands-on way.
“Manage Topics” Now Available to All Users
One of the standout features now rolling out widely is “Manage Topics”, a simple way to let TikTok know what general subjects you’re most (or least) interested in.
You’ll find it by going to Settings > Content Preferences, where you can adjust sliders based on categories like:
Travel
Nature
Sports
Creative Arts
And several more
TikTok explains:
“Manage Topics lets you fine-tune how often you see content related to over 10 popular topics. It doesn’t remove categories entirely, but it does help shift your feed as your interests change.”
It’s not a super granular system — the topics are quite broad — so you won’t be able to block out everything under a specific theme. But it’s still a decent way to nudge the algorithm in the right direction.
Smart Keyword Filters Powered by AI
Another noteworthy addition is Smart Keyword Filters. This feature allows you to block content containing specific keywords or hashtags that you’d rather not see at all.
Let’s say you’re not into renovation videos. You can enter keywords like “DIY” or “home makeover,” and TikTok will try to filter that content out of your feed entirely.
This is especially useful for avoiding triggering or irrelevant content, and could play a role in reducing exposure to potentially harmful trends. In fact, TikTok recently banned the term “SkinnyTok” from search after increased scrutiny in Europe and tools like this allow users to take similar steps proactively
Already Live for Some, Expanding Now
If these tools look familiar, it’s because TikTok first began testing Manage Topics last August, and some users may have already seen it in action. But now, the platform is officially expanding availability across the board.
These updates reflect TikTok’s ongoing effort to offer more user agency in content curation, while still maintaining its discovery first approach.