It’s no secret that Tik Tok has blown up over the past two years, but what is it that makes the platform so popular? Many similar short form video apps have failed to take off, but Tik Toks algorithm is what makes it so hard to stop scrolling. An internal company document proves that the platform is the most successful video app in the world. Much of Tik Toks success can also be attributed to its user friendliness. People have consistently acknowledged that Tik Tok seemingly reads your mind when it comes to preferences. The algorithm accounts for things like time spent watching a video, likes, comments and so much more that other platforms overlook. An extremely simplified algorithm looks something like this Plike X Vlike + Pcomment X Vcomment + Eplaytime X Vplaytime + Pplay X Vplay. Tik Toks parent company, ByteDance, has been under fire for possibly leaking sensitive data from the platform. The Trump administration claimed that the data could be used as a threat against Americans. Chief Executive of Tik Tok attempted to mollify the outrage by storing data within the US. Many people argue that the site could not pose more or less threat than any other platform. While there are varying opinions about the security issues it may bring, one things for certain, and it’s that Americans can’t get enough.

“Freaking out about surveillance or censorship by TikTok is a distraction from the fact that these issues are so much bigger than any specific company or its Chinese ownership,” said Samm Sacks, a cybersecurity policy fellow at the research organization New America. “Even if TikTok were American-owned, there is no law or regulation that prevents Beijing from buying its data on the open data broker market.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html