Will These New Features Make TikTok Safer?

Published: June 6, 2025

tiktok-5064078_1280 — Photo from antonbe via Unsplash

By India McCarty

TikTok will revamp its “For You” page algorithm, giving users more control over what they see on their feed.

“The For You feed empowers discovery by connecting people to great creators and content that are tailored just for them,” a press release from TikTok reads. “We offer controls to help people further personalize their experience, and now we’re expanding them with a new feature called ‘Manage Topics.’”

The release explained that, with Manage Topics, users can “customize how often content related to over 10 popular topics is recommended in your feed — from Creative Arts, Travel, Nature and Sports.”

“These settings won’t eliminate any topics entirely, but can influence how often they’re recommended as your interests evolve over time,” the release continued.

Adam Presser, Head of Operations & Trust & Safety at Tikok, added, “The For You feed is what makes TikTok a place like no other to discover your favourite new interests or grow a thriving community,” per KBC.

“With our new features, you can manage topics you want to see in your For You feed and limit keywords and hashtags you’d rather skip, so that it’s easier than ever to find creators, hobbies, and content you love,” he continued.

TikTok gives everyone more control over what’s on their For You page https://t.co/q6jRYrO7kA

— The Verge (@verge) June 3, 2025

This isn’t the only feature TikTok is rolling out. The app will also implement a “Smart Keyword Filter” that “allows users to use keyword filters to restrict specific content from appearing in their feeds, the new Smart Keyword Filters will use AI to additionally limit content that contains similar keywords, such as synonyms,” per TechCrunch.

For example, if you choose to filter out the word “remodeling,” the Smart Keyword Filter will also filter out related words like “renovation” and “remodel.”

“We expect Smart Keyword Filtering to get increasingly precise as more people use it over time,” TikTok’s press release explained. “In the months to come, we’ll also be doubling the keywords you can add to 200 and making it easier to add them in bulk, to further help people quickly and precisely shape their feeds.”

This is significant, as many have pointed out that TikTok’s algorithm often shows users harmful content, such as videos about eating disorders or self-harm.

Do you think the For You page should be overhauled?

“TikTok’s infinite scroll design creates repetitive consumption patterns that mirror addiction mechanisms,” World Day explained. “The platform’s AI struggles with nuanced detection, often misinterpreting legitimate health content while allowing dangerous material to flourish under altered hashtags.”

Now that users can block certain content by filtering out words and phrases, this process of users being bombarded by videos that contain triggering content might be coming to an end.

TikTok’s new set of features will give users a tailor-made experience, and hopefully, help people avoid distressing or difficult topics.