To reset your TikTok algorithm, use the built-in Refresh your For You feed option. Press and hold a video in your feed (or tap Share), tap Why this video, then Adjust your For You, then Refresh your For You feed, and confirm. TikTok then shows your feed as if you had just signed up. Your follows and settings stay as they are.
Key Takeaways
- TikTok has had an official reset since March 2023. It is called Refresh your For You feed, and it is reached from any video or from your settings.
- A refresh does not unfollow anyone, does not change your settings and, according to researchers, does not delete the data TikTok holds about you. It changes what the feed recommends next.
- The first hour after a refresh decides most of what comes back. What you watch, search and skip becomes the new signal.
- Keyword filters and Not interested keep specific topics out without a full reset.
- Creators cannot reset how TikTok distributes their own videos. TikTok says follower count and past hits are not direct ranking factors, so every post is judged on its own.
How do you reset the TikTok algorithm on your phone?
Open the TikTok app and go to your For You feed. Press and hold any video, or tap the Share arrow. Tap Why this video, then Adjust your For You, then Refresh your For You feed, and confirm. The feed reloads with general recommendations, much like the first day on a new account. The option is in the app; TikTok’s own help page describes it from the feed.
The same option also sits in settings. Guides published this year put it under Profile, the menu icon, Settings and privacy, Content preferences, Refresh your For You feed. Menu names change between app versions and regions, so if you cannot find it there, use the path from a video, which is the one TikTok documents.
| Method | Where to start | What it changes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh your For You feed | Hold a video > Why this video > Adjust your For You | The whole feed starts over; follows and settings stay | A feed that no longer fits at all |
| Not interested | Hold a video | Fewer videos like that one | A few unwanted videos |
| Hide a creator or a sound | Hold a video | Stops videos from that creator or with that sound | One account or one trend |
| Keyword filter | Your content preferences | Hides videos that use a hashtag or phrase you list | One topic that took over |
| A second account | Your profile | A history with no past activity | A clean feed, or work and personal kept apart |
What does refreshing your For You feed actually change?
A refresh changes what the For You feed recommends next, and nothing else. TikTok’s announcement says the feature lets you “view content on their For You feed as if they just signed up for TikTok,” and that “enabling refresh won’t override any settings you’ve already chosen to enable or impact accounts you’ve followed.” Your likes, saved videos, comments and followers are not touched.
It is also not a data deletion. When the Mozilla Foundation asked AI Forensics about the feature in September 2023, researcher Salvatore Romano said the refresh “doesn’t delete any data about you from TikTok servers” and serves fresh recommendations “for a certain period of time.” Read that as a clean slate for the feed, not for your history. If what you want is privacy, a refresh is the wrong tool.
Why does the old content come back after a reset?
Old topics return because the signals that put them in your feed are still there. TikTok says recommendations come from your interactions (likes, shares, follows, comments and the videos you make), from video information such as captions, sounds and hashtags, and, with less weight, from your language, country and device. A refresh clears the feed, then the same habits rebuild it.
That is why the first session after a refresh matters most. If you watch one video on the topic you were trying to escape all the way through, the feed reads it as interest and starts serving it again. Three habits make a refresh stick:
- Search for what you want. Searches count as signals too; the Mozilla Foundation lists searching for a creator or a song among them, and a search is the most direct way to tell a fresh feed what you came for.
- Skip fast. Swipe past anything off-topic in the first seconds instead of watching to see where it goes.
- Tap Not interested early. Holding a video and choosing Not interested tells TikTok you do not want videos like it, and TikTok says that feeds into future recommendations. You can also hide videos from one creator or made with one sound.
How do you reset without starting from zero?
Use keyword filters and Not interested when only one topic is the problem. A full refresh throws away the recommendations you liked along with the ones you did not. TikTok’s filter hides videos that use specific hashtags or phrases from your For You feed, so you can drop a topic and keep everything else.
This is the right fix for the common case: a feed that was fine until a few videos on one subject took over. Add two or three keywords that describe it, mark the next few videos on it Not interested, and give the feed a day. Keep the full refresh for a feed that no longer resembles what you came for.
Does clearing the cache or reinstalling TikTok reset the algorithm?
No. Your recommendations are built from your account’s activity, not from the copy of the app on your phone, so clearing the cache, logging out or reinstalling leaves them in place once you sign back in. TikTok does not list any of these among its For You controls; its announcement names the refresh, keyword filters and Not interested.
The only way to get a feed with no history at all is a separate account. Romano told the Mozilla Foundation that “having multiple accounts is one of the best ways to control personalization.” A second account also helps if you use TikTok both for work and for yourself, since each one learns from its own activity.
Can creators reset the algorithm for their own account?
No, and they do not need to. The refresh changes what you see as a viewer. It does nothing for how TikTok distributes the videos you post. There is no switch that clears an account’s past performance, because, according to TikTok, “neither follower count nor whether the account has had previous high-performing videos are direct factors” in recommendations.
So the creator version of “my algorithm is broken” is usually a run of videos that did not hold viewers, and the fix is in the next videos, not in settings. Two practical consequences follow:
- A flop does not poison the account. Each video is ranked on how people respond to it. Deleting old low performers will not lift the next one.
- Consistency is what you control. Posting on a steady rhythm gives TikTok more chances to find the right viewers for you. A scheduler helps here: the PostNext TikTok scheduler publishes videos and photo posts through TikTok’s official Content Posting API, and its analytics report views, engagement, shares and follower growth per post, so you can see which videos held viewers.
If you are planning posting days, our guide to the best time to post on TikTok explains how to read your own audience data instead of a generic chart, and scheduling TikTok posts from a desktop walks through setting up a week of posts. For how other platforms rank content, see how social media algorithms are changing in 2026.
Is resetting Instagram the same as resetting TikTok?
Mostly not. TikTok gives you one action that starts the whole For You feed over. On Instagram the work is spread out: Reels, Explore and the home feed each learn on their own, so the usual approach is Not interested on the posts you do not want, muting or unfollowing accounts you no longer read, and watching more of what you do want.
The habits after the reset are the same on both apps, though. Whatever you watch through, search for and interact with in the first days becomes the new feed. The Instagram steps are in our guide on how to reset the Instagram algorithm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I reset my TikTok algorithm completely?
Use Refresh your For You feed: hold a video, tap Why this video, then Adjust your For You, then Refresh your For You feed. For a feed with no history at all, use a second account.
Does refreshing the For You feed delete my followers or likes?
No. TikTok says a refresh does not change your settings or the accounts you follow, and your likes, saved videos and followers stay in place. Only the recommendations start over.
How long does it take for a new TikTok feed to adjust?
TikTok does not publish a timeline. The feed reacts to every video you watch, skip or search for, so a focused first session changes it faster than a passive one.
What if I refresh my feed by mistake?
Your follows and settings are untouched, so nothing you set up is lost. Rebuild the feed you had by searching for and watching the topics and creators you want back.
Does clearing the TikTok cache reset the algorithm?
No. Recommendations are built from your account’s activity, not from the app on your phone, so clearing the cache does not give you a new For You feed. Use the refresh option instead.
Why is my For You feed showing the same videos again?
The signals behind them are still active: searches, follows and the videos you finish. Use keyword filters and Not interested on the topic, and avoid watching it through for a few days.
Related reading
- Best Time to Post on TikTok
- How to Schedule TikTok Posts From Your Desktop Free
- How Social Media Algorithms Are Changing in 2026
- X (Twitter) Algorithm Explained
- 30 TikTok Content Ideas for Any Niche, With Hooks
Sources
- TikTok, Introducing a way to refresh your For You feed on TikTok, March 16, 2023 (read October 2026)
- TikTok, How TikTok recommends videos #ForYou, June 18, 2020 (read October 2026)
- TikTok Help Center, Refresh your For You feed (October 2026)
- Mozilla Foundation, You Can Change Your TikTok Algorithm, But Not In The Way You Think, September 27, 2023
- PostNext, postnext.io/tiktok-scheduler (October 2026)
