"A Wall Street Journal investigation found that TikTok only needs one important piece of information to figure out what you want: the amount of time you linger over a piece of content. Every second you hesitate or rewatch, the app is tracking you." That's the summary of this 13-minute video on WSJ that digs into just how TikTok's algorithm figures out its users' interests and then takes them down very niche rabbit holes of content. The publisher created over 100x bot accounts and assigned them specific interests and then had them watch over 100k videos on the social media app. TikTok says "shares, likes, follows, and what you watch all play a role in what TikTok shows you." But the WSJ found that TikTok actually only needs one metric to target users so specifically: how long you linger over a piece of content. "Through this one powerful signal, TikTok learns your most hidden interests and emotions." This video highlights the debate we've been seeing play out on multiple channels. When search marketers have access or targeting based on this very specific data, it also means we can customize our advertising to those very niche audiences. If you love pets and TikTok figures out that you love French bulldogs in particular, advertisers can use that to make distinct ads to serve that particular audience. But audiences may not realize that lingering on specific types of TikTok videos gives both the social media company and potentially advertisers that information — which as the video proves, can be very personal. It's the classic paid advertising conundrum: audiences want targeted advertising, but they're afraid of giving up their personal data to get it. | 
