You read that right: There's a way to manually boost a video's reach using this Heat button, and only Insiders can access it. An internal TikTok document titled "MINT Heating Playbook" reviewed by Forbes explains that "the heating function refers to pushing videos into the For You feed through operational intervention to achieve a certain number of video views." Still according to the document, "the total views of hot videos account for a large portion of the total daily video views, approximately 1-2%, which has a large impact on the overall core metrics.
" This means that for every 100 videos each rich people data user watches, 1 or 2 videos are manually selected using the heat button. The tricky part is you can't tell which ones. What's the main problem behind the "heat" button? With this information coming to light, and TikTok itself confirming its authenticity, it’s no wonder people (including brands, creators, and influencers) are starting to question TikTok’s impartiality, and the whole “algorithm-built personalized feed” narrative has been lost gained strength.
And according to Forbes' investigation, unfortunately, these suspicions are not unfounded. that some employees improperly used the heating function for personal gain. For example, adding their personal account or the account of someone they know. Additionally, these sources claim that the company itself uses the heated buttons for its own benefit, boosting its brand and profile in seeking partnerships. In the face of all this, TikTok and ByteDance have tried to defend themselves, claiming that only a few people can use the button and that its use is only to bring more diversity to the platform.