{"id":91664,"date":"2023-01-26T20:51:30","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T20:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockcontent.com\/?p=91664"},"modified":"2025-09-18T00:25:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T03:25:11","slug":"tiktok-heating-button","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pingback.com\/en\/resources\/tiktok-heating-button\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet TikTok\u2019s \u201cheating\u201d button, and the reason for so much buzz lately"},"content":{"rendered":"

TikTok\u2019s For You Page was always known as a personalized algorithm feed, only based on user behavior. But is it, though? <\/p>\n

According to a recent investigation from Forbes<\/em><\/a>, six current and former employees of TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, claim that this is not the whole story – and there are documents and communications that help to prove this allegation. <\/p>\n

These sources have revealed to the world an internal action known as \u201cheating\u201d, practiced by staff at TikTok and ByteDance.  This information has caused a stir because it has never been publicly disclosed before – at least until now. Quite the contrary, TikTok has always proudly positioned its For You Page<\/a> as solely built by machine learning. <\/p>\n

Ok, but, what does this \u201cheating\u201d practice mean, and why has it caused so much fuss lately? If you asked yourself these questions, stay with us! We\u2019ll bring the answers here in this article. <\/p>\n

So, what is this \u201cheating\u201d feature?<\/h1>\n

\u201cHeating\u201d is nothing more than an internal button (literally) that allows TikTok and ByteDance\u2019s staff to pick specific videos to go viral. You read it right: there\u2019s a way to manually boost videos\u2019 reach using this \u201cheating\u201d button, and only internal people have access to it. <\/p>\n

“The heating feature refers to boosting videos into the For You feed through operation intervention to achieve a certain number of video views\u201d, explains one of the internal TikTok documents reviewed by Forbes<\/em>, called the MINT Heating Playbook. <\/p>\n

Still according to this document, \u201cthe total video views of heated videos account for a large portion of the daily total video views, around 1-2%, which can have a significant impact on overall core metrics\u201d. This means that for every 100 videos watched per user, 1 or 2 were manually selected using the heating button. And the tricky part is you can\u2019t tell which ones. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s a bit wild about all of this is just how invisible the process really is. Users go about their day thinking the For You Page is some digital meritocracy working around the clock, but those manually chosen videos blend in so smoothly that you’d almost never know. I don\u2019t know about you, but something about that hidden hand makes it feel less like a fair playing field and more like a rigged game in certain moments. Then again, maybe there\u2019s never been a true level playing field anywhere online\u2014this just makes it more obvious.<\/p>\n

This secrecy can also muddy the waters for creators hoping to \u201ccrack the code\u201d and grow organically. So you put in hours of work, chase TikTok trends, optimize your posts, and still, sometimes, it really comes down to whether someone behind the curtain taps a button for you. For brands that bank on analytics, this level of unpredictability might be a nightmare\u2014or a weird kind of hope. It depends on your luck, or, apparently, who you know inside the company. That last part stings a bit for independent voices.<\/p>\n

And what\u2019s the main concern behind the \u201cheating\u201d button? <\/h1>\n

With this information coming to light \u2013 and with TikTok itself confirming its veracity<\/a>, it\u2019s no wonder people (including brands, creators, and influencers) have started to question TikTok\u2019s impartiality, and the whole \u201cpersonalized feed built by algorithm\u201d speech has lost its strength. <\/p>\n

And according to the Forbes <\/em>investigation, unfortunately, these suspicions are not unfounded. Three other sources<\/a> confirm to Forbes <\/em>that some employees used the heating feature improperly, for personal interest. For example, boosting their personal accounts or accounts of people they know personally. <\/p>\n

Also, these same sources claim that the company itself uses the heating button for its own benefits, boosting brands and influencers that it seeks for partnerships. <\/p>\n

On the face of it all, TikTok and ByteDance tried to defend themselves, claiming that only a few people have access to this button, and its use is just to bring more diversity to the platform. But, for now, this whole story is still a case of \u201cshe said he said\u201d. Perhaps we\u2019ll be able to follow up with further investigations and clarifications in the near future. <\/p>\n

Personally, I honestly can see some opportunities for this controversial button. After all, it is undeniable that diversity in the digital environment needs allies to have the visibility and the reach it deserves, but we\u2019ll still need more information and transparency to know if this is in fact the only purpose behind this feature. Let\u2019s see what comes out of this story. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TikTok’s “heating” button, which allows employees to manually select which videos go viral, has raised questions about the platform’s impartiality and the true nature of its personalized feed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everybody-writes","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet TikTok\u2019s \u201cheating\u201d button, and the reason for so much buzz lately<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TikTok's "heating" button, which allows employees to manually select which videos go viral, has raised questions about the platform's impartiality and the true nature of its personalized feed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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