TikTok Rolls Out Hashtag Filters and New Safety Tools

TikTok announces the introduction of a new system called ‘Content Levels’ that would help restrict certain types of mature content from being used by teen users. The platform is also preparing the rollout of a new tool that will enable users to filter videos with certain words or hashtags from displaying on their feeds.

These features will give users more control over their experience on the social media platform and also make the app safer, especially for young users. This is a particularly crucial factor for TikTok since the app has been facing increased scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers, and even some groups of parents who had accused the company of displaying dangerous and misleading content.

With the new tools, TikTok will be able to put more moderation control into the hands of users and content creators. The upcoming Content Levels tool is a means of classifying content on the app, almost similar to how TV shows, movies, and video games feature age ratings.

Although adult content is banned, TikTok says some content on its app may contain “mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences.” Its Content Levels system will work to classify this content and assign a maturity score.

The maturity score will be assigned by Trust and Safety moderators to videos that are increasing in popularity or those that had been reported on the app. Videos with mature themes — like fictional scenes that could be too frightening or intense for younger users — will be assigned a maturity score to keep them from being seen by TikTok’s under-18 users. The system will be expanded over time to offer filtering options for the entire community, not just teens.

Additionally, TikTok will soon launch another tool for filtering content from your ‘For You’ and ‘Following’ feeds. This feature will enable users to manually block videos that contain certain words or hashtags from their feeds. This doesn’t necessarily need to be used for filtering potentially problematic or triggering content. Instead, it can also be used to stop the algorithm from showing the topics a user simply doesn’t care about or is not interested in. TikTok suggests you could use it to block dairy or meat recipes if you were going vegan, for example, or to stop seeing DIY tutorials after you completed the referenced home project.