TikTok algorithms 2025: how the app manipulates users

Nowadays, TikTok is probably the most popular social network. We used to know it as Musical.ly, a platform where people mostly posted lip-syncs (videos of people opening their mouths to music).

It was popular at that time and attracted users, but we understand that such content is specific and not suitable for all age groups.

TikTok is not just about videos with music. It’s also about free personal brand development. Yes, this is where people can become popular and find customers without any investment. It’s a place where there’s a lot of educational content, and for many people, TikTok has replaced YouTube (especially when you need a tutorial on the strangest things, and you’re used to always finding a video by some genius on YouTube who will explain everything. With TikTok, it’s about the same now). There’s music, aesthetics, promotion, memes, and a bunch of other stuff.

So today we will talk about TikTok’s algorithms and how they affect users. The brand promotion mentioned earlier also depends on them.

TikTok algorithms 2025

It is difficult to understand the mechanism of this social network, as it is not openly stated anywhere. TikTok algorithms are based on the experience of users and content makers.

The program works very conveniently and intelligently, as the “For You” page is fully customized to what the user likes. TikTok keeps tracking of likes, comments, subscriptions, video viewing time, views to the end, repeat views, etc. Thanks to this, a page is formed with videos that are specially selected for you.

If you want to change the vibe of the videos in your recommendations, you just need to go to the search and enter the name of the thing you are interested in. Interact with some videos and almost immediately you’ll see the most similar content in your recommendations.

AI helps to automatically analyze the content you post: activity, music, quality, video text and captions, etc.

If TikTok sees that the audience engagement under your videos is high, it will promote them further.

TikTok was the first platform to show users content not only from the authors they follow, but also from those they don’t. This way, you can discover new and interesting accounts or just browse a variety of content without subscribing to each author.

Shadow-ban on TikTok

A shadow-ban is when your account is blocked, but you may not know it. You continue to use your account. You see other users’ videos, but as soon as you post content by yourself, you notice that the activity is constantly low, and you don’t get any views. In general, the statistics are very different from the previous ones. TikTok simply does not show your videos in recommendations and does not display them in the searching page or under hashtags. It’s an unpleasant situation.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to remove a shadow-ban. If you don’t have a very large number of subscribers, this procedure can take 1–2 months.

That’s why many people simply create new profiles.

Why does a shadow-ban appear? 

It’s worth knowing why this trouble happens to protect yourself from it or to make it easier to restore your account.

Fake followers

Nowadays, cheating is no longer relevant. The main thing is not quantity but quality. So if you have 100k of bots following you, it won’t make any progress. The app’s algorithms easily recognize such tricks, so in this case, you are guaranteed a shadow-ban.

Spam (particularly, in comments)

This is massive self-promotion under other people’s posts, as well as attempts to attract the attention of new subscribers with similar texts:

• Mutual Subscription
• Follow me 
• Follow for following
• etc.

Age under 15 

TikTok’s policy states that people over 13 can use the app, but only if they have a private account. If your age is under 15, you will most likely be banned and not promoted further.

A lot of complaints about your profile

If the audience’s attitude towards your content is so questionable that you start receiving complaints, then you should think about it. 

However, it also happens that your “enemies” have decided to complain about you en masse in order to hurt you in some way and get you off the platform.

Deleting videos

This is actually a very interesting reason. It’s a little hard to understand, but TikTok doesn’t support video deletion. 

That’s why it’s advised to simply archive them (i.e. make them private). This way, no one but you will see your content.

Content for 18+

TikTok is “a little bit” not the right platform to post various videos of an erotic nature. That’s why such videos are almost immediately hidden. 

The fact is that there is an 18+ page here, but you need to open access to it. Many people don’t know about it, so it has a much smaller number of users. Accordingly, such videos end up there, which will worsen the performance.

Also, any references to such topics in the text and voice acting can be a reason for a ban.

Why videos on TikTok do not gain views?

In fact, everything is very ambiguous. Sometimes stupid videos with no sense and no captions get millions of views, while something interesting continues to hang without an asset.

This is all the work of algorithms.

However, there are a few things that can affect your performance. If you avoid them and correct mistakes, the situation can improve significantly.

The quality of the image 

Very often, TikTok doesn’t promote low-quality videos in its recommendations because there is little interaction with them. People like a beautiful, high-quality picture. They appreciate “tasty” images. Therefore, if you intend to promote your own brand, take care of the quality of the shooting. 

It may be worth replacing the camera, mastering certain aspects of processing, lighting, etc.

A drawn-out plot

It all revolves around user interaction with your content. People usually skip through a video if they are not interested in the beginning. 

Try to create intrigue at the beginning of the video (don’t start with the words: “Hi, I’m (name), I do (this) and I want to talk about (this) blah, blah, blah”). The audience needs an answer here and now. If this video attracts a lot of users due to its engaging content and easy presentation, people will click through to your profile and find out exactly who you are and what you do.

Unclear content topic

It is very important to understand what you will be filming right away. If you have one video about cooking recipes, another about the structure of a car, another about psychology, and another about clothing style, you’re unlikely to get much engagement.

For example, a person sees your video on cooking an interesting dish in the recommendations. They go to your profile hoping to find some more recipes, but see scattered content that doesn’t intertwine with each other. It’s unlikely that you’ll get a new subscriber. The user simply didn’t find what they were looking for.

Shadow-ban

Another obvious and unpleasant reason. We’ve already written about it.

If everything is fine with your quality, topics, posting frequency, etc., but you still don’t get views, check your profile for a shadow-ban.

To summarize.

TikTok is a very powerful social network. Here you can entertain yourself, actively promote your brand, or simply find the information you need.

However, it also has its drawbacks. Promotion can be hindered by a shadow-ban that is difficult to remove. And interesting videos can turn into an addiction. 

Use social media wisely, and it will become a source of inspiration, growth, and good mood for you.