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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- TikTok users reported app bugs on Sunday.
- The For You page is not customized, and videos fail to upload.
- TikTok says a power outage at a US data center is to blame.
If you’ve opened TikTok over the past day to find that your For You Page algorithm is unrecognizable, or that features on the app no longer work, you aren’t alone.
The app confirmed a “major infrastructure issue” it’s working to resolve on Monday night, resulting in multiple bugs, slower load times, and timed out requests when posting content. It also mentioned a display error from server timeouts causing views or likes on content to display “0” instead of the actual like or view amount.
Users on Reddit report the app failing to load new content and upload posts. Some users report seeing videos in other languages they don’t speak. “My whole for you page is messed up, either stuck on a loop of the same videos, videos from people I follow but never normally see on my [For You Page]. I feel like they messed with the algorithm, it feels so bad now,” one user posted in a Reddit thread.
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One commenter said that their page is showing only videos in Russian, a language they don’t speak, and several users responded sharing the same experience.
DownDetector spike
On Sunday, reports that the app was broken spiked on DownDetector, a real-time, user-driven service owned by ZDNET parent company Ziff Davis that monitors and reports on the status of thousands of online services.
TikTok said Monday morning that a data center outage disrupted some of the app’s functions.
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“Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a US data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate. We’re working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We’re sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon,” TikTok posted on X.
New ownership
TikTok’s app bug comes right as ownership of the app changed hands. Last week, ByteDance, TikTok’s original owner, agreed to spin out a US-owned entity. Changes went into effect on Sunday, when users received a message upon opening the app with updates to the terms of service and privacy policy.
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The app is owned by a new corporate entity, TikTok may collect new types of location information from users, and TikTok will use new information it has collected to show ads outside of TikTok, the message read. TikTok’s owners now include Oracle, Emirati investment company MGX, Silver Lake, as well as its original Chinese owner, ByteDance.
My experience
TikTok’s algorithm is known for being hyper-personal. Videos on the For You page, TikTok’s central hub and content stream, are curated to reflect the specific interests of each user. This explains why the change to a depersonalized, general For You page is so stark and jarring to users.
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When I logged on Sunday afternoon, none of the regular topics I’m interested in appeared on my For You page. I kept seeing viral content that I have no interest in, and, after plenty of scrolling, I struggled to find content that reflected my interests.
