How to Beat Social Media Algorithms (and Why You Should Try)
Social media platforms from TikTok to Twitter charge you nothing for using their services, except for, well, everything you need to know about you. Part of the strategy in this data collection comes from algorithms that decide what content to show you based on your past usage. Don’t make it easy for them to collect data – bypass the algorithms whenever you can.
Social media algorithms are constantly changing. They analyze your information and provide you with the content they think you want to see. The way you interact with this content is learned by the algorithm and it will change the offers it gives you in the future. Because of this, algorithms are great for keeping you on an app or service for a long period of time, but they also help social media companies build better profiles of your interests.
Of course, companies build profiles of their users based on voluntarily provided information; they collect the accounts you follow, the information you post on your services, the places you share, etc. But what better way to figure out who you really are than to provide you with user-generated content and see how you interact with it. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little tired of training these algorithms so that they know exactly who I am and what I like. It’s worth it for me to fight back where I can. Here are a few places to start:
Don’t validate the algorithm’s assumptions
These days, social media platforms usually offer you content, rather than asking you to find what you like. For example, when you open YouTube, the entire page is littered with suggestions based on your past browsing history. This can be useful, but it can also keep you on the site for much longer than you originally intended. After all, there is always something to see.
Of course, these platforms aren’t just about watch time; when you click on a suggested YouTube video or interact with a post on the Explore page on Instagram, you confirm the algorithm’s assumptions about you. It takes this data and fortifies its profile on you. While social media is already tracking your every move, any move you make with your content will carry even more weight than usual.
My advice? Avoid interacting with suggested content whenever possible. Instead, find the content you want to see. If you find something interesting in the suggestions, find it manually and watch from there. The algorithm will still learn from your behavior, but you won’t train it as if you were following its suggestions.
Remove Suggested Feeds When Possible
This brings us to our next topic. If you can, change your feeds to sort them chronologically, rather than what the service thinks is most interesting to you. This is the same logic as before – do not train the platform algorithm more than necessary. By browsing and interacting with content as it comes in, the platform won’t have as many tools to determine what you’re interested in, and therefore fewer additions to your overall profile.
Of course, not all social media platforms offer this type of feed. TikTok is known for bringing you algorithm based content. However, you can try to only watch content from the Subscriptions tab, which will only show you videos from the accounts you follow. It’s still not perfect as even this sorting is done by TikTok’s algorithm, but it gives you a bit more control.
Facebook and Twitter allow you to sort by recent posts, rather than an algorithmically curated “Home” feed. At the moment, Instagram may not have a chronological feed, but it will appear. When it does, switch to it instead of relying on meta to choose which of your followers’ posts you want to see first.
Use platforms without your account whenever possible
This is another tip that depends on how the platform works. If possible, do not let the social network know that you are using their services. The first thing that comes to my mind is YouTube; if you don’t care about your browsing history, you can view all the content you want in an incognito tab without signing in, and YouTube won’t have the option to link this activity to your Google account.
You can also easily browse Reddit without an account; The disadvantages here are the loss of the ability to comment and vote on posts, as well as the absence of an account with personalized subscriptions. But if you already know which communities you want to check out, or you’re good with Reddit’s default settings, viewing registered users works great.
This solution is also good when you don’t want to train the algorithm on content you don’t like, such as when a friend sends you videos or posts they find funny. Click on enough of them and suddenly your TikTok feed is filled with their humor and interests; no thanks.
In some cases, using these services without an account is not possible because many social media platforms require you to log in. Facebook and Twitter are nearly impossible to use without an account, and Instagram gives you an annoying login popup after viewing more than a couple of posts while logged out.
The best solution for such situations might be:
Use the taking account
Using a “fake” account without your real information is a great way to take advantage of these platforms without worrying about their parent companies creating an accurate profile of you. Of course, you know that these companies still monitor everything you do on their platforms, but if you don’t give them important details like your name, email address, date of birth, etc., they will much harder to know who you really are.
Burners are great for sites like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter, you just lose out on the more social aspects of social media. If you can put up with it, account takers can keep you entertained without being tracked.