TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. The app’s main feed shows users a customized stream of short videos based on their interests and interactions. This main feed is labeled “For You” for most users, but some users instead see a tab labeled “Discover” in place of the usual “Friends” tab.
Seeing Discover instead of Friends on TikTok has become a common occurrence that has left many users confused. This difference stems from how TikTok’s complex algorithm personalizes each user’s experience on the app. Understanding why this happens involves looking at how TikTok determines what content to serve each unique user.
TikTok’s Algorithm
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to provide each user with a personalized feed of videos based on their interests and engagement. According to The TikTok Algorithm Explained + Tips to Go Viral, the algorithm works by tracking every user interaction, including likes, shares, comments, and watch time, to understand users’ preferences. It then recommends content that it thinks each individual user will enjoy and engage with.
As explained in How to Work With the TikTok Algorithm in 2024, when a user first joins TikTok, the algorithm has limited information so it shows a variety of popular videos to determine the user’s interests. As the user starts engaging with certain types of videos, it learns their preferences and fine tunes recommendations over time. The goal is to create a unique “For You” feed for every user based on their behavior on the platform.
Overall, TikTok’s personalized algorithm aims to provide an entertaining and engaging experience by recommending relevant, interesting videos tailored to each specific user. By tracking detailed user interactions, it can determine individual interests and preferences in order to serve up personalized content feeds.
New Accounts
One of the main reasons why some users may see the Discover tab instead of Friends is because they are new TikTok users. According to TikTok’s support page, “If you’ve watched all your friends’ videos, you can return to the For You feed or you can choose to find more friends with similar interests and invite others…” https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/friends-tab. This indicates that new users start off seeing more of a general Discover feed so that TikTok’s algorithm can learn their interests before populating their Friends feed.
When someone first creates a TikTok account, they likely don’t have many (if any) friends or followers yet. So TikTok shows them a Discover feed full of popular and trending videos to help train the algorithm on what kinds of content the user enjoys watching. As the new user starts liking, commenting, sharing, and following other accounts, TikTok gains more data to refine their recommendations and populate a tailored Friends feed.
Therefore, the Discover tab is the default for new users until they build up their own network of friends and followers. Once TikTok’s algorithm has enough data on their interests, it will switch over to a Friends feed showcasing content from the people they actively engage with.
Inactive Accounts
One of the main reasons the Friends tab may change to Discover is if your account becomes inactive on TikTok. According to TikTok’s support article on their Inactive Account Policy, an account is considered inactive if it is not used to access TikTok for at least 180 days.
When an account becomes inactive, TikTok may make certain changes to the account settings and layout. One of these changes is replacing the Friends feed with the Discover feed. This is likely done to surface more engaging content from popular creators to inactive users when they return to the app, rather than just showing friends’ videos which may not be as relevant after a long absence.
Therefore, if your TikTok account has been inactive for an extended period of time and you notice your Friends tab has been replaced by Discover, it is because TikTok has categorized your account as inactive. You can switch back to the Friends feed by actively using your account again.
Region Settings
The region setting in your TikTok account determines which tabs are shown on your profile – either Friends or Discover. This is because TikTok tailors the user experience based on your location. According to TikTok’s support article, you can change your region under Settings: Location information on TikTok.
If your region is set to the United States, you will see the Discover tab which shows you trending content. If it’s set to other regions like Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, you’ll see the Friends tab instead for connecting with people you know. TikTok seems to believe focusing on friends is more culturally relevant in these regions.
Therefore, if you want to switch between seeing Friends or Discover, you can do so by changing the Region setting under your account privacy settings. Just be aware that changing regions may also impact the content shown to you based on local trends.
A/B Testing
TikTok utilizes A/B testing, also known as split testing, to test different versions of the app and various features with different sets of users. This allows them to gather data on how changes impact user engagement before rolling changes out to everyone.
According to TikTok’s Ads Manager help documentation, split testing “allows you to test two different versions of your ads to determine which one performs better.” (source) The same concept applies to different versions of the main TikTok app.
By showing some users one version of the app and other users a slightly different version, TikTok can measure how changes to the interface, algorithms, and features impact metrics like time spent on the app, content creation, sharing, etc. They likely have rigorous statistical models to analyze and compare the performance of different versions.
This means that not all users see the same version of TikTok at the same time. The “Discover” section may be tested against the “Friends” section with different user segments before rolling it out to everyone. So if you don’t see a feature others have, it may be because you’re in a different A/B test group.
Troubleshooting
If you are unable to see the Friends tab on TikTok, here are some tips to troubleshoot and get it back:
First, make sure your app is updated to the latest version. TikTok rolls out new features gradually, so you may need to update to receive it.
Next, go to your profile and tap the three dot menu in the upper right. Choose “Manage Contacts” and make sure syncing contacts is enabled. This allows TikTok to match your contacts to other users (citing https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/friends-tab).
You can also tap “Find Friends” under the Manage Contacts menu. Here you can connect your Facebook account to find Facebook friends on TikTok.
If syncing contacts does not work, try logging out and back into your account. Or uninstall and reinstall the app to force a refresh.
As a last resort, you can try reaching out to TikTok support through the app. There may be an issue with your specific account restricting the Friends tab.
With some troubleshooting, you should be able to regain access to the Friends tab and start connecting with other TikTok users you know.
Intended Design
TikTok’s intention with showing “discover” instead of “friends” is to help users find new content and accounts to follow, beyond just those in their existing social circles. As TikTok explains in their announcement of the Branded Mission program, the app aims to inspire people by connecting them with diverse communities and ideas. Replacing “friends” with “discover” reflects this focus on exposing users to fresh, interesting content from new sources.
The word “discover” implies exploration and serendipitous findings, rather than just connecting with existing friends. TikTok wants to stimulate curiosity and help users expand their horizons. Showing “discover” instead of “friends” is a small but meaningful design choice intended to nudge users towards broadening who they follow and what they watch. It pushes people to branch out from their established social circles and interact with a wider range of content creators and communities. Overall, it reflects TikTok’s core mission of inspiring creativity and bringing joy through discovery of the new and unexpected.
User Control Over Friends vs. Discover
TikTok gives users some control over whether they see the Friends feed or the Discover feed. According to TikTok’s support site, “Some users will see the Discover page in place of Friends.”
Users can try switching between the two feeds by toggling an option in the app’s settings. On iOS, go to your profile, tap the three dots in the top right, choose “Settings and privacy,” then tap “Suggested users” to toggle “Friends” on or off. This may switch you between Friends and Discover.
However, TikTok notes this setting “won’t override what’s available” based on their testing. So while users can try to switch feeds, TikTok ultimately decides based on optimization tests which experience a given user will see.
Some Reddit users have also reported that switching regions in your TikTok settings may also trigger a change between Friends and Discover. But again, TikTok seems to maintain control over which feed you see.
In summary, TikTok does give users some ability to try toggling between Friends and Discover feeds, but the company maintains control over these options based on ongoing optimization tests.
Conclusion
There are a few main reasons why users may see the Discover tab instead of the Friends tab on TikTok. First, the Friends tab is still in testing and has not rolled out to all users. TikTok is doing A/B testing, so some users randomly see Discover while others see Friends. New accounts or inactive accounts are also more likely to see Discover. Additionally, your region settings can determine which tab you see. If you are located outside of markets where Friends is being tested, you will continue to have Discover.
In summary, the appearance of Discover vs Friends depends on whether you are part of the A/B test group for the new Friends tab, the age and activity level of your account, and your geographic location. As TikTok continues to test and refine the Friends experience, more users globally will gain access over time. Discover and Friends provide similar functions for discovering new content, with Friends tailored more to connecting with people you know.